The Spiral Theory
by Kuragari no Oshiego
Summary: The young warrior Kamina is mortally wounded during his greatest battle ever. A horrified Simon uses to the power of the spiral to fling Kamina into the distant future, where he can be saved. Kamina ends up on Cronos Station, where a certain organization is pouring all their money and efforts into resurrecting the hero of the Citadel.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:** Hello, this is my first Mass Effect fanfic and I'm not quite sure of the conventions, so please bear with me as I figure things out. I'll be using my standard Shepard for the main character. She is an infiltrator and not strictly renegade or paragon. Any other relevant information will be supplied in the story. This story begins at the start of the second game but, again, any choices Shepard made during the previous storyline will be relayed in the narrative. For the most part, though, you can just assume that things played out pretty much the same as the canon ME1 story.

The first bit of this chapter is an excerpt from Gurren Lagann. If you don't understand exactly what's going on, don't worry about it. It's only important insofar as it establishes how Kamina comes to be in the same place as Shepard and shows the relationship between Kamina and Simon. Also, Simon refers to Kamina as 'Aniki' which is a typical address for a younger man to an older man that he looks up to and is close to. There isn't a good English translation so I'm leaving it as is.

A couple things that should go unstated but I'll state them anyway: I don't claim any ownership over the intellectual properties of Mass Effect or Gurren Lagann. This is just for fun. Also, MAJOR spoilers for both ME and GL. Like, right off the bat.

Thank you everybody. I hope you enjoy this.

 **Let's See You Grit Those Teeth!**

"What's the matter, Simon? What's the hold up?!" Kamina shouted.

"I'm tying! I'm trying but it's not working!" Simon said, ineffectually pulling at the controls of his Lagann.

Viral snorted a laugh and said, "You blew it during the endgame, Kamina." Then his gunman waved at his companions toward the huge Dai-Gunzan that Simon was currently failing to hijack. "Ignore the small fry! Everyone return to Dai-Gunzan at once!"

 _Damn it!_ Kamina jumped his gunman, the Gurren, into the air and flung the giant pair of sunglasses that doubled as his primary weapon. The sunglasses buried themselves in the ground, halting Viral before the beastman could escape. "You're not going anywhere!" _What the hell are you doing, Simon?!_ Kamina turned to rest of the Gurren Brigade and shouted, "You guys keep the gunmen pinned down! I'll see what I can do about Simon!"

"Roger!" The members of the Gurren Brigade assented, rushing to fight the enemy gunmen.

Kamina leapt Gurren off the cliff and smacked into the Dai-Gunzan. He rapidly scrambled his gunman up and charged toward the Lagann. Even though he was getting more and more experienced with Gurren, the all-out sprint caused him to stumble several times, finally losing his balance completely when he reached the Lagann. Kamina simply slapped the release and tumbled out of the hatch, slamming into the top of the Lagann. "Open the hatch, Simon!" His younger partner started up and him and opened the hatch without question. Kamina pulled back his fist and said "Let's see you grit those teeth!" Then Kamina belted him across the face as hard as he could.

Simon bounced back hard in the cockpit of the Lagann and stared up at Kamina in complete confusion. "Aniki?"

Kamina smiled down at him. "Have you snapped out of it yet?" Simon blinked at him. "If you ever start to doubt yourself, I'll always come to belt you one," Kamina continued. "So don't worry. I'm here at your side. Believe in yourself. Believe in the Simon that I have faith in."

Simon gaped at him, eyes shining. Then he smiled, even though his cheek was starting to swell up. "I understand!" Simon turned around in the cockpit and retook the controls of Lagann. After a moment, the voice of Leeron came over the com. "You're doing good, Simon. Very good. You're synchronizing steadily. Just a little more."

Kamina looked down at Simon, pride welling in his chest. His little bro always came through in the end. That's why Kamina had chosen him as his partner when they were trapped in Giha village. The other villagers ridiculed Simon, calling him the Digger because he was always dirty from drilling holes to expand the village. Kamina knew better. He saw Simon's unlimited potential. That kid's drill was going to pierce the heavens!

With a sigh of relief, Kamina settled back into the cockpit of the Gurren. Now that Simon had control of the Dai-Gunzan, this battle was as good as over. "See," Kamina murmured. "You can do it if you—" Before Kamina could complete his thought, something exploded under Gurren's feet, flinging Kamina into the air. He screamed as something pierced the cockpit and sliced across his chest. The enemy gunman that did it jumped up behind him. Kamina spied the gunman and felt fear fill his belly. "Thymilph?! Damn, I didn't—" Kamina was jostled about as Gurren was hit again from behind.

Kamina whipped his head around and saw Viral attacking from his other side, "You bastard," he growled. _Don't you have any honor, Viral?!_ Kamina tried to steady his gunman but Thymilph pursued him, slamming an enormous glaive trough the Gurren's knee and cutting off the limb. Viral caught him before he could fall and held him steady as Thymilph speared Gurren through the back, driving the glaive so deep that the tip of it actually stabbed into Kamina. Kamina screamed in pain and the world went black.

Some indeterminate time later, Kamina heard screaming over his com. "Pull yourself together, Simon! Can you read me?!" Kamina opened his eyes, wishing that he was still unconscious. Every part of him hurt except for his back, which was numb. Somehow, Kamina knew that that was worse than the pain. He moved his hand and was disgusted when he touched something hot and wet. Then he noticed that it was his own blood. Kamina groaned and pushed himself up.

"Can't a guy get a little sleep around here?" he muttered. He managed to sit back in the cockpit and work Gurren back to its feet. He saw the Lagann, still connected with the Dai-Gunzan, but slumped forward, mimicking its master's suffering. Kamina instinctively lifted a hand toward his little bro and then noticed that the Gurren's arm was only hanging on by a few wires. He reared back and flung the arm forward, severing it from the Gurren. "Simon!" he called out over the com. "Let's see you grit those teeth!" The arm flew true, smacking the Lagann in the face.

"Aniki," Simon called in relief. "You're alive!"

"Simon," Kamina growled. "Who the hell do you think you are?" Kamina forced his crumbling Gurren to lift up its other hand and point toward the heavens. "Your drill is the drill that's gonna bore through heaven and earth and even tomorrow. What're you sitting here dawdling for? We've won, blood brother. This behemoth belongs to you now. You don't have to worry about anything now."

"Aniki…" Simon said and Kamina could hear the hope in his voice again. "Right!" Kamina watched as Simon turned the Dai-Gunzan and, with impressive control, managed to make the giant gunman dance. "Everybody!" he cried. "Everything's okay now! Dai-Gunzan is ours! Come on aboard."

The other gunman of the Gurren Brigade cheered but before they could take Simon up on his offer, the gunman of Thymilph stepped forward, leading the remaining enemy gunman. Kamina glanced at him in consternation. He was so tired he could barely move his arms. "That old furball doesn't know when to give up, does he?" he sighed. Still, Kamina was the leader of the Gurren, no the Dai-Gurren, Brigade. And he had one last thing to do. "Come on, Simon. Let's send these clowns packing."

"Eh?"

"Let's combine. We'll use Gurren Lagann to do this last mission!"

"Let's do it, Aniki!" The Lagann disengaged from the Dai-Gunzan and ran toward the Gurren. The Lagann leapt up and drilled into the Gurren's head, beginning the transformation. The damage to Gurren was fixed and Kamina felt some life seep into him.

"We brawlers are sustained by willpower even when mocked as crazy and reckless!" he cried.

"If there's a wall in our way, we smash it down!" Simon chimed in. "If there isn't a path, we carve one our ourselves!"

"Our souls burn with a mighty flame!" they shouted together. "Ultra combination, Gurren Lagann! Who the hell do you think we are?!"

The last of the enemy gunmen leapt at them. "Out of our way, cannon fodder!" Kamina screamed. A drill for each one emerged out of the Gurren Lagann, spearing them all. When the drills retreated, the gunmen exploded. Thymilph attacked but the Gurren Lagann caught the glaive easily. Kamina slumped forward. The small boost he had gotten was rapidly failing and he felt hot all over. There wasn't much time left. "Listen close, Simon," he said softly. "Believe in yourself. Not in the Simon that I believe in. Not in the Kamina that you believe in. Have faith in the Simon that believes in you."

"Aniki?"

Kamina pried the sunglasses off the front of the Gurren and flung them at Thymilph. They split into to two and caught the beastman's gunman, spreading its arms and legs out wide. "Finishing move!" Kamina shouted. He lifted the arm of the Gurren Lagann and produced a huge drill. _Bigger! If I'm going to go, I'm going to go in style!_ The drill pumped up in size until it dwarfed the Gurren Lagann. Kamina started it spinning and then launched the Gurren Lagann at Thymilph. "Giga Drill Break!" he cried. The huge drill crushed through Thymilph's gunman, destroying it utterly.

Kamina landed the Gurren Lagann and smiled. _Not bad._ His head dropped forward and Kamina knew he didn't have anything left. _Sorry, Yoko. Damn, I wanted to kiss you one more time._ "Later, buddy…" he managed to gasp out. _Goodbye, Simon. I really wanted to see what kind of man you'd grow up to be._

"Aniki?" Simon cried. "ANIKI?!"

And Kamina's body was racked with pain. Not the pain of his wounds but something different, like he was being ripped apart at the molecular level. Kamina screamed. He screamed until his throat was raw, only he barely felt it past the agony of his body. Images flooded into Kamina's mind. He saw a city on the surface of Earth. Then he watched it burn. Kamina felt Simon's presence and looked over his shoulder. There was nothing. When he looked back, the Earth was gone. He was in the darkness of space, spirals of light all around him. Somehow, he knew they, too, were burning. Throughout it all, he felt Simon all around him. The aura of his little brother was all-pervasive and full of pain and cold. So cold. Kamina shivered. _What happened to you, Simon? Where are you?_

The pain spiked again. Kamina smashed through something. Again and again. Reality was breaking apart around him and being refused. Just like his body. White light blinded him and a roar deafened him. His skin felt frozen and like in was burning in turns. Just when Kamina was certain he would go insane, he hit something solid. Kamina blinked, staring at the white floor underneath his body. The all-encompassing torment retreated, replaced with the almost comforting pain of the wounds inflicted by Thymilph.

Kamina tried to push himself up but his body wouldn't respond. Blood seeped out of his chest and back and head. _What happened? All of that and I'm just going to die, anyway?_ Then he heard voices. He couldn't understand a word they were saying. A hand was placed on his shoulder, cold against his burning skin. Kamina was turned over and the last thing he saw before he slipped into blessed unconsciousness was a pair of bright blue eyes and a mass of dark hair. _An angel?_

 **Part 2**

Shepard dreamed. She dreamed of what she always dreamed of lately. Images of death and destruction. Quick flashes of the species called the protheans being wiped out by the sentient machines they called the reapers. There was no sense to the images. No story or sensible progression. There was a theme, though. Slaughter. Shepard moaned. The images had haunted her since she found an ancient prothean beacon on the human colony Eden Prime. She was sick of it. She already knew they were coming. She was already fighting.

Her mind flicked to an image of a reaper, though this time it was from her own memory. _King_ _Kittan,_ the thing had been called. It looked like a giant golden star sprouting arms and legs. The star had a face though, two red eyes the size of mountains and a humongous smirking mouth. In one hand it clasped a pink lance nearly as long as turian cruiser. Shepard had honestly found the thing kind of comical the first time she laid eyes on it. It wasn't funny when _King_ _Kittan_ caved in the front of the Citadel Fleet flagship, _Destiny Ascension_ , with one blow of that lance, however.

She would never forget the sounds of the asari on board _Destiny Ascension_ pleading for help, explaining that the Council, leaders the known galaxy, were on board. Shepard had ordered the human fleet to concentrate everything on bringing down _King_ _Kittan_ rather than escorting the _Destiny Ascension_ out of trouble. Her decision had cost the Council their lives but she still thought it was the correct one. They'd barely brought down _King_ _Kittan,_ despite the Citadel and human fleet pouring enough firepower at it to scorch a dozen planets.

The most disturbing thing had happened just as they'd finally defeated the Reaper attempting to seize the Citadel, however. Shepard had assumed, like the Protheans, that the Reapers were sentient machines. When _King_ _Kittan_ had finally started to collapse in a series of explosions, something within it had reached out and touched Shepard. Something human. Shepard had a vision of a young man with grey eyes and a mop of blond hair. And she'd heard him whisper two words. "Sorry," and "Simon."

There was no way such a thing should be. The reapers had been around for fifty thousand years at least, since that was when the protheans had been exterminated. If Liara was right, they'd been around for hundreds of thousands of years before that. Shepard couldn't understand it. There was too much she didn't understand. Including the visions from the beacons. She groaned as they started playing in her mind once more.

"Shepard!" a voice called. Shepard twitched. "Shepard, you need to get up!" Shepard's crystal blue eyes cracked open. She squinted at the light. "Get up now, Shepard!"

Shepard blinked a couple more times. Her mind felt like jelly. Her body felt half-dead. "What?" she croaked. "Where am I?"

"It doesn't matter," the voice said. "Enemies are coming and you need to move."

Shepard's warrior instincts kicked in and she forced herself to sit up. The world spun around her and she clasped her head. Her hand felt scarring around the left side her face. _What happened to me?_ Memories came back to her and her skin went clammy. She'd been aboard the _Normandy_ when an unknown ship attacked. The ship had been destroyed utterly and Shepard herself had been vented into space. She could still remember the creeping cold and slowly suffocating as her suit lost oxygen. Shepard started to hyperventilate. "What are you doing?!" the voice screamed. "Get moving."

 _Right, no time for this_. Shepard used a breathing exercise they taught her during her marine training to bring herself under control. She slid off the bed but her legs immediately folded underneath her, spilling her to her hands and knees. _What the hell?_ How long had she been out? Shepard used the bed to pull herself back up, her legs trembling violently. "Good, Shepard. There are arms and armor in the locker to your left." With slow, unsteady steps, Shepard managed to make it to the locker. She frowned when she opened it. The armor was not her Colossus armor. With a sigh, she put it on anyway. At least it was painted in the red and black color scheme she favored.

Fully armored, Shepard felt a bit steadier. She took the pistol from the shelf in the locker and studied it. It was a standard issue Predator. Not her preferred sidearm. "Great, Shepard," the voice said. "Now get out of that room before the mechs swarm you." Shepard tried to place the voice but came up empty. It was feminine with a slight accent. It seemed familiar somehow but she couldn't put a face to it.

"Before I obey any more of your orders," Shepard said, "I think I am going to need some more information. Who are you and where am I?"

"There is no time for that!" the voice said, obviously irritated. Shepard heard an explosion in the background. "My name is Miranda Lawson. If you want to more than that, you'll need to meet me in the shuttle bay." A huge burst of static came through, making Shepard wince. "I think something..." Miranda's voice barely came through before being interrupted by another burst of static. "I don't know..." Static. "Get going!" Static and then silence.

Shepard growled in annoyance. Now she knew nothing. She supposed her only real choice was to hope she could find the shuttle bay and hope that Miranda was still there when she did. At least that was her only choice for now. Shepard hadn't been made the first human Spectre because she lacked a talent for improvisation.

She exited her small room and cautiously made her way forward. A burst of bullets made her take cover behind a nearby strut. When the firing stopped, she chanced a glance and saw two white mechs shuffling toward her. Shepard leaned out and took a couple snap-shots, clipping one of the mechs in the face. It collapsed and Shepard ducked back as the other one fired. When the firing slacked off again, Shepard rolled from cover, came up to one knee and blew away the other mech. Then she continued on her way.

Wherever she was, it was very white and austere. Shepard had assumed that she was in a hospital because of the circumstances of her awakening but there was no other medical equipment. She decided that it must be some kind of science facility. Which only made her more curious as to how she'd ended up here. Miranda still wasn't back on the communication network and the only human she found was in the process of having his head blown off by a mech when she did so. After disposing of the automaton, she studied the dead human. His clothes were plain and functional. The only thing of note was a logo of an orange snake eating its own tail on a black background. The logo seemed familiar but Shepard couldn't place it.

The mechs had done a good job trashing the place, so it took some time before Shepard found a functional computer terminal. The first thing she did was download a map of the facility into her omnitool. Then she started perusing what files she could access. _Project Lazarus? What could that be?_ Before she could investigate further, a mech put a bullet through the hardware. "Damn it," Shepard cursed softly, putting a return bullet through the mech's head. She tapped a few keys before giving up. _At least I got a map. If I can find this Miranda person, hopefully I can get some answers_.

Shepard left the room and continued toward the shuttle bay. Before she got very far, though, she came across the first real live human she'd seen since waking up. The room he was in was bare and plain like all the others but the way he was glowering at the door, and the way that the wall facing the hallway was completely transparent, made it evident that the room was a prison cell. He was an odd-looking boy, Shepard had to admit. His shaggy hair was light blue and his eyes were bright red. Hair dye and colored contacts were common enough in the galaxy that it wasn't that unusual but the colors almost seemed natural on him. He was also wearing a plain white jumpsuit but had pulled the top off and tied the arms around his waist. Swirling blue tattoos covered his arms and chest.

The man noticed her and glared at her for a moment before beginning to shout. The room was sound-proof but Shepard stopped short, wondering what this man had been put away for. She considered leaving him but she was really hoping that he had some information about what was happening. Plus, Shepard wasn't really the type to leave someone to their potential death. Decision made, Shepard put two bullets into the glass wall. The man jumped back, watching her nervously. Shepard slammed her elbow into the glass and was stunned when it blew apart in one blow. _I thought I would have to hammer it at least a few times. Strange_.

Shepard stepped into the room, reattaching her pistol to her hip. The man studied her with his bright red eyes. "Who're you?"

"Commander Shepard, Systems Alliance Navy," Shepard said. "You?"

"I am Kamina," he said proudly. Shepard stared at him. Did he expect her to know who he was? Kamina's shoulders slumped. "You don't know Kamina-sama, the great leader of Team Dai-Gurren?"

 _Is that some kind of planetary militia?_ Shepard shook her head. "I can't say that I've heard of you."

"Damn it," Kamina groused. "Where the hell are we anyway?"

"I was actually hoping that you could tell me that."

"Hell if I know," Kamina growled. "This is a pretty advanced village if that's what it is."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure this isn't a village." _What kind of weird-ass bumpkin have I run into here?_ "Look, I'm heading for the shuttle bay. You can come with me if you want. I'm sure you've seen the mechs roaming around here."

Kamina nodded and then rotated his shoulder. "Better than sticking around here."

They left, Kamina striding boldly forward despite not having any kind of weapon. With some annoyance, Shepard quickened her pace to stay with him. Which how both of them nearly met their end when they walked out onto bridge that had six mechs other side of it. Shepard jerked Kamina back behind the corner just as the bullets started flying. She sighed in relief when she saw that he wasn't hurt and then consulted her map. "That bridge is a kill zone," she muttered. "I wonder if there is a way around."

"Bah!" Kamina snorted. "Why go around, when you can go through?" With that, he stormed around the corner.

"Kamina!" Shepard cried. _That idiot!_ He wasn't armed and she doubted that jumpsuit was equipped with any kind of a shield. She chased after him and was stunned to see that he was already across the bridge. Was he biotic? Shepard hadn't ever seen somebody move like that without a biotic boost. _Maybe his L2 implants have driven him a little crazy_. She felt a pang of sadness for the departed Kaidan Alenko.

"'What the hell even are you' kick!" Kamina screamed, crushing a mech's head with a jump kick. Shepard was impressed until she saw the other mechs raising their guns toward Kamina and it became clear he had no plan to deal with this. Shepard snapped up her pistol and started firing, concentrating on keeping all the mechs busy rather than taking them down one at a time. The mechs started firing back but Shepard stood her ground, hoping her shields could soak up the damage. She hated not knowing the limits of her equipment.

Kamina took advantage of her intervention and punched the nearest mech, breaking its face. Shepard raised her eyebrows. He was definitely a biotic. She finished off the rest and then took a breath. She checked her shield level and saw that it was nearly at zero. _Damn it_. "Why didn't you tell me you were a biotic?" she growled. "And even so, that was incredibly reckless."

"Incredibly reckless is the Dai-Gurren way," Kamina said with infuriating smugness. "What is a biotic?"

"You are."

"I am?"

Shepard felt a headache going on. "You manipulate dark energy, right?"

"I do?"

Shepard studied his face and decided that he really was just ignorant and not being an ass. She shook her head. _Hard to believe anyone could be that ignorant, though_. "Never mind. Let's keep moving."

As they walked, Kamina asked, "So where're you from anyway? The surface?"

 _The surface of what?_ "I'm from Mindoir," she said grimly.

"Mm." For some reason he seemed a little disappointed. "Are there many people there?"

"Not anymore." He looked at her with curiosity. _Did this guy grow up in that room or something?_ Mindoir was notorious. "Batarian slavers raided it and killed or captured nearly everyone."

"Batarian?" Kamina repeated the word awkwardly. "Beastmen?"

"Yeah, I guess you could call them beasts." Though it was kind of a stupid insult in Shepard's opinion.

"Damn furballs!" Kamina snarled, slamming a fist into his other hand.

Shepard halted and put her hand on Kamina's arm. "Quiet. I think I hear something," she whispered. They snuck forward a little ways and the voices came through clearly. "Please, you don't understand!" a male voice said.

"I think I understand just fine," a female voice answered. Then there was the sound of a gunshot. Kamina and Shepard exchanged glances and then ran forward into the shuttle bay together. Inside there was a woman in a skin-tight black and white jumpsuit with a pistol in one hand, standing over the corpse of another human. Shepard aimed her gun at the woman. If anything, though, the woman seemed brighten at the sight. "Shepard!" she said with delight. "I'm glad you made it." Shepard recognized the voice now. Miranda Lawson. The dark-haired woman's eyes slid to Kamina and she lost much of her enthusiasm. "I see you've brought along our little mystery boy as well."

"You!" Kamina said with obvious venom. He leaned over and whispered, "Be careful with that one. She might have the face and ass of an angel but she's an ice queen."

Shepard glanced at him and said sardonically, "Thanks for the advice." Kamina either didn't notice her tone or didn't care.

"Come along, Shepard," Miranda said. "We need to get off this station. I suppose you better come along as well," she said to Kamina.

Shepard shook her head and didn't lower her gun. "I'm going nowhere until I've gotten some answers. Starting with where I am."

"All of your answers will be provided when you meet my employer." When Shepard didn't move, Miranda huffed in frustration and continued. "I could tell you the name of the station we're on but it wouldn't mean anything to you. It doesn't matter. Unless you want to be marooned here, I suggest you get on the shuttle."

Shepard laughed nastily. "If you aren't willing to talk, I'm more than happy to put a bullet in your head and take my chances hot-wiring a shuttle."

Miranda glared at her. "Fine."

Shepard gestured at the dead man. "Who was that?"

"Wilson. He worked here but he was the one who sabotaged those mechs to annihilate the facility. There were supposed to be here for our protection."

Shepard didn't have enough information to know if she was telling the truth or not. "What is this facility?" She asked. Another name jumped into her head. "What is Project Lazarus?"

Miranda sighed in defeat. "This facility and Project Lazarus were both dedicated to one thing. Bringing you back to life." Kamina whistled.

 _What does that mean?_ "Bring me back to life?" Shepard stared at Miranda. "What?"

"You were dead, Shepard. In just about every medical and legal sense of the word. Project Lazarus was a cutting-edge project with one goal in mind. Remaking you exactly as you were."

Shepard's stomach twisted. She had known that she'd have had to have been in bad shape after what happened aboard the _Normandy_ but this sounded much worse than she would have imagined. "Why," she began and then had to swallow because her throat was dry. "Why would you do that?"

"You're a hero, Shepard. A bloody icon. We need you," Miranda said, as if it were that simple.

Shepard let her gun fall to her side. "Who are you? Are you with the Alliance?"

Miranda shook her head. "Not the Alliance. If you want to know more, get on the shuttle. Come and meet the man who poured over four billion credits into reviving you."

Shepard reeled. _Four billion credits!_ What human organization aside from the Alliance had that kind of cash on hand? Why would the spend that much just to save her life? Most disturbingly of all, what exactly had been her condition been that it had taken that kind of money to fix her? She glanced at Kamina and was somewhat comforted that he looked just as lost. "I guess we should probably follow her," Shepard said, reluctantly. Kamina shrugged.

"Finally," Miranda groused. She turned and headed for a shuttle.

Kamina grunted and followed. "What a waste," he grumbled. "That body with that personality." Shepard went after him, feeling numb. The thing that she'd been trying not to think about was startling to bubble to the surface. _Liara_. The face of the gorgeous asari floated into Shepard's brain. _Where are you?_

Once they were seated and the shuttled was lifting off, Shepard worked up her courage and asked, "How long have I been out?"

"A little over two years," Miranda answered casually.

The world spun around and Shepard slumped back in her seat. _Two years?! How could that be?_ "Who knows that I'm alive?"

"Well, now that most of the people who worked on the Lazarus Project are dead," Miranda mused. "Me, my employer and a few others in our organization. The Alliance has you officially listed as M.I.A."

"What...what about my crew? From the _Normandy_?" Shepard asked, for some reason unwilling to mention Liara.

Miranda shrugged. "Most of them have moved on. Without the _Normandy_ and without you, there was no reason to stick together. I haven't kept tabs on them but my employer might have." Shepard wasn't one to cry but she felt like it. _Liara thinks I've been dead for two years?_

Kamina, who had his nose pressed up against one of the viewports, suddenly said, "We're in space! With the stars and the moon!"

Miranda stared at him. "Of course we're in space, you dolt."

Kamina stared right back, looking absolutely blown away. "Where is the Earth? I don't see it."

Miranda gestured slightly to her left. "It's about fifteen hundred light years that way. What is wrong with you?" Even though Shepard was nearly in shock, the analytical part of her brain deduced that they must be in the Horsehead Nebula.

"Nothing is wrong with me!" Kamina snapped. "I've just never been off Earth before, is all!"

Miranda rubbed her temple. "Then how are you fifteen hundred light years away from it?"

Kamina shrugged. "Dunno."

Miranda's eye twitched. "I'm going to figure out what your deal is, boy. I don't care if I have to dissect you in a lab."

Kamina glared right back at her. "Nobody but _nobody_ dissects Kamina-sama!" he declared. Shepard couldn't help but laugh which earned her a dagger glare from Miranda. Shepard decided right then that she wouldn't let Miranda or her organization harm Kamina. Even though she'd just met him, she was starting to kind of like the brash knucklehead. Shepard also felt better having a clear goal and purpose in mind.

"Shepard," Miranda growled, though it was clearly residual anger at Kamina that was informing her tone. "Before we meet my employer, I would like to go over a few things to make sure your memories are intact."

Shepard crossed her legs and drummed her fingers on her thigh. "My memories are fine, Miranda. Whatever you did worked. I even remember the _Normandy_ crumbling and being vented into space."

"Is that so?" Miranda glanced down at her at the datapad in her hand. "That's honestly better than our expectations. Still, we have a little time and for my own edification..."

"Go ahead." Shepard supposed it was better than dwelling on things she couldn't fix.

"Let's start with an easy one," Miranda said. "After the battle for the Citadel, who did you recommend to be the first human Councilor?"

"Captain David Anderson." _He got screwed out of being the first human Spectre and he always trusted me when it came to the Reapers. Unlike that short-sighted fool Udina._

"Yes and your opinion at the time carried enough weight to see it done. Though I think his association with you might have harmed him since," Miranda speculated.

"What does that mean?" Shepard said, a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"There will be time for that later..." Miranda murmured. "Alright, how about a question from further back in your history...you first came to the Council's attention with your actions on Torfan. Do you remember what happened there?"

Shepard's eyes narrowed. She had a feeling Torfan would haunt her into her grave. "The Alliance wanted a retaliatory strike against the batarians for the Skylian Blitz. My orders were to eradicate their base at Torfan. I did so."

"At the cost of most of your unit," Miranda pointed out. "You also left no survivors and it is rumored that you executed surrendering batarians."

"They were slavers," Shepard said coldly, feeling a rage in her chest that had never really completely died since Mindoir. "My strike finally pushed them out of the Attican Traverse. They'd been getting away with raids in Alliance space for far too long. Torfan was a nightmare but I hope that it saved some others from worse ones."

"Well said, Shepard," Miranda said, a note of respect finally in her voice. "Ah, here is a good one. From your childhood, so if you can answer it I can safely say that your memories have been restored in full. When you were in the seventh grade, an essay you wrote on 'what in the galaxy I would most like to see' resulted in your suspension. What did you write?"

Shepard's eyes opened wide and she leaned forward. "How could you possibly know that?"

Miranda smirked. "It's on your permanent record, Shepard. Our hackers are more than competent enough to get into primary school records."

Shepard settled back. _Jesus, these people are thorough_. "I wrote that the thing I'd most like to see was an asari stripper." _Done and done_. "My teacher didn't like it, calling the essay unserious and disgusting. I called him a speciesist who had no balls."

Miranda gave her a thin smile. "Yes, that matches up."

Kamina laid a hand on Shepard's shoulder. He looked at her, red eyes serious. "What," he asked, "is an asari stripper?"

"I'll take you to Chora's Den when we have some free time," Shepard said with a smile.

Miranda shuddered. Then the shuttle halted. "It look like we're here." Shepard raised an eyebrow. _Short trip_. Miranda led them off the shuttle and into another facility much like the one Shepard had woken up in. Miranda pointed to a set of stairs. "My employer will meet you in the room at the end of that hallway."

Shepard gave a nod and then leaned over and whispered in Kamina's ear. "Don't let them take you anywhere until I get back." Kamina nodded, eyes determined. Miranda stared at them with suspicion but didn't say anything. Shepard went down the stairs and into a dark room. In the center of the room was a large man, mostly hidden in the shadow. She could also tell that he was actually a hologram, rather than a flesh and blood presence. Shepard couldn't make out his features very well but she could see that he was nearly as big as a krogan, with a bald head and bushy beard. The thing that caught her attention were his eyes, however. They were red, like Kamina's, but they seemed to actually glow in the darkness. More, instead of a single iris, there were concentric circles of red across his entire eyeball. Shepard crossed her arms, affecting an air of disinterest. "You much be the 'employer' Miranda keeps going on about."

The figure let out a deep chuckle. "Indeed. It is very like Miranda to be obfuscating. I am the one the Alliance calls the Illusive Man."

Shepard thought for a moment. She'd heard that name before. Then it hit her. "You're the head of Ouroboros!" Her stomach went cold. She'd broken up more than a few of their labs after she became a Spectre. They were doing human experimentation. She had meant to spend some time digging into the mystery organization once she had some time. "Why the hell would Ouroboros want to save _my_ life?"

The Illusive Man laughed again. "You did me a favor. Ouroboros is an organization for the protection and advancement of the human race. I give my subordinates a lot of operational leeway. Sometimes it backfires. I was planning to send a strike team after the very people you put down."

"Convenient," Shepard spat.

The Illusive Man shrugged his massive shoulders. "Believe me or don't. I didn't bring you back to be part of my organization."

The statement blindsided Shepard. "Then why?" _Four billion credits! I know Ouroboros must have a significant financial base but still..._

"Because I understand the threat of the reapers," the Illusive Man said, his deep voice deadly serious. "You are one of the few other souls in the galaxy that does. You are somebody that knows how to rally public support, something I and Ouroboros cannot do. Even if you leave now and we never see each other again, I will consider my money well spent."

 _He's trying to make me lower my guard_. It was working, too. If the Illusive Man knew what she knew, she could understand his motives. Shepard would bring back Saren himself if she thought he could help in the fight against the reapers. Still, it wouldn't do to let him know that she might believe him. "Will you still think that way if I tear your organization down around your ears?"

"Perhaps," the Illusive Man said. She could hear the amusement in his voice and cursed internally. "Before that, however, there is something I would like you to see." _Here it comes._ Shepard braced herself for the pitch. "While you've been recovering, entire human colonies have been going missing."

Shepard's head perked up and her eyes hardened. "Batarians?"

"No," the Illusive Man said with certainty. "There are no signs of struggle. No corpses, no property damage. Just every man, woman and child is gone, leaving nothing but a huge mystery."

 _How can that be?_ Shepard's stomach went cold. That sounded very much like something that had to do with the reapers. Who else could pull that kind of stunt? "What is the Alliance doing about this?"

"Nothing," the Illusive Man grunted. "These are colonies outside of official Alliance space. Many of the settlers specifically go to escape the Alliance. Even if they wanted to do something, they're hands are full trying to replace the turians as the muscle of the galaxy."

Shepard slid a hand through her hair. "Still, how could they do nothing?"

"You'd have to ask them. Ouroboros is not content to sit. I have information on a colony that's just been hit. Freedom's Progress. I would like you to accompany Miranda to the site and see if you can learn anything."

Shepard nodded in agreement before she could stop herself. _Damn it_. It was true that she really wanted to see this colony for herself. One thing Shepard had always been bad at was ignoring a problem. Still, it was time for a little test on how far she could push. "I'll go but I want to take Kamina with me."

The Illusive Man grunted in surprise. "That strange boy that showed up out of nowhere? We don't know anything about it him. It would be safer for us to interrogate him."

"I don't care." Shepard crossed her arms. "Kamina stays with me or I walk." She let her other threat remain unspoken but thought that the Illusive Man was smart enough to pick up on it. Shepard wouldn't be leaving this base intact if she left with Ouroboros as her enemy.

"Fine," the Illusive Man waved his hand. To Shepard's delight, he finally looked a little annoyed. "Keep the boy."

"Good," Shepard said with a smile. "I suppose I should head to Freedom's Progress right away."

"Go. I look forward to hearing your findings." The Illusive Man turned his back on her, a clear dismissal. Shepard's smile tightened but she left without another word. Miranda was working at a terminal when Shepard reached the top of the stairs and Kamina was staring out a window. They were obviously ignoring each other. Shepard didn't mind. If she was going to work with Ouroboros, she wanted to have somebody with her who wasn't loyal to them.

"How did things go?" Miranda asked with a hint of anxiousness.

"The Illusive Man has convinced me that I should take a look at Freedom's Progress. I haven't promised anything more than that at present."

Miranda's blue eyes lit up. "Excellent. I'll get the shuttle ready to go straight away." She pointed at a door. "Through there are some weapons and some alternate armor, if you are interested."

"Thanks," Shepard grinned. "Kamina will be coming with us, so I'll get him outfitted as well."

Miranda's jaw dropped and Kamina glanced over at them. "We're bringing that fool along?! Why?" she screeched.

"Because I want to." Shepard's smile turned menacing.

Miranda's face went a little red but she just muttered, "Very well. Meet me on the shuttle when you are ready." She stalked away, refusing to even look at Kamina.

The blue-haired boy walked over to her and smirked. "She didn't seem happy about that."

"You're an unknown. I gather that the people here don't like chaos. As long as I keep you around, I can keep them off balance."

Kamina laughed. "Glad to help with that."

Shepard jerked her head toward the small armory. "Let's go see what kind of weapons they have for us." They made their way to the armory and went inside. Shepard was surprised to see how many weapons they had available for her. There were also rows and rows of armor sets. A quick glance told her that her Colossus armor wasn't among them and she decided, regretfully, that it must not have survived her sojourn into space. "Do you have a weapon preference?" Shepard asked Kamina.

He scratched the back of his head. "I actually usually fight with a sword when I am outside of Gurren."

Shepard glanced at him with curiosity. "Is Gurren a ship of some sort?" _And who the hell uses a sword?_

"You could say that. I guess." Kamina frowned.

"Well, you've at least fired a gun before right?" Kamina nodded. "Any preference?" He shrugged. Shepard studied the weapons. She was familiar with most of them but a few were of unknown manufacture. Hopefully she would have time to play with them later. "You like to get up close and personal, right?" She mused. Then she picked up a shotgun and tossed it to him. Kamina caught it easily. "Scimitar shotgun. That baby will blow through just about any shield at close range. And for more delicate work..." Her eyes lit up when they spotted a Locust. She almost kept it for herself but then passed it to Kamina. "That cute little girl can pump out an enormous spread of bullets while staying very accurate." For herself, Shepard selected a Viper rifle and a Carnifex heavy pistol. She rubbed her chin. "We'll also need to get you some armor." They all looked heavy enough for frontline work. "Pick whichever looks good to you."

Kamina eyed the rows of armor and Shepard almost laughed when his eyes locked on to the most predictable set. "Ooooh! That's cool!" Kamina ran over to the armor, which looked like a set of medieval plate with a blood-red dragon painted on the shoulder and chest.

"Go for it," Shepard chuckled. "I'll wait outside." Shepard exited to allow Kamina to dress in private. She leaned back against the wall and sighed. How long had she been awake? A few hours? And already she'd been in one fight and was preparing to go into another. It seemed like her whole life since Mindoir had been nothing more than a few moments of peace in between constant bloodshed. Even her moments with Liara had been snatched during a flights from one warzone to another.

Kamina came out of the armory dressed in his plate armor. Shepard had to admit that he did look kind of cool. She helped him attach his shotgun to the small of his back where soldiers typically wore it and showed him how it would expand when he drew it. It was a worrisome that he didn't even know that much but Shepard figured that she'd be spending most fights behind him anyway. They found Miranda seated in the same place in the shuttle and took their same seat across from her. She rolled her eyes when she saw what Kamina was wearing.

"So," Shepard said. "Since your supposed to be my partner in this, why don't you tell me a little about yourself?" The shuttle started to rumble around them and lifted off.

"Worried about my qualifications?" Miranda asked with a slight sneer. "Don't be. I can crush a mech's head with my biotics or shoot out the eyes of a turian with equal ease. I also have the learning and technical skill to bring a dead human back to life," she added with a smirk.

 _I meant tell me a little bit about what kind of person you are but I guess you kind of did._ Shepard let the matter drop. There would be time to learn about her later, if necessary. Something else did catch Shepard's attention though. "You're a biotic, you say?" Miranda nodded cautiously. "Well, it so happens that my friend Kamina here showed off some biotic skills of his own when we were fighting off the mechs. He's raw but I think he has a lot of talent. Why don't you show him a few of the basics while we fly to Freedom's Progress?"

Miranda's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious."

"I'm completely serious." Shepard glanced at Kamina and noticed that he didn't seem any more enthused than Miranda did. "Don't you think it makes sense for our little party to be as powerful as possible? I've no biotic ability or I'd teach him myself."

"That's true, I suppose," Miranda reluctantly conceded. "However, we usually begin training biotics when they are children. The abilities often seem impossible to the adult mind."

"Then don't worry about me! Nothing seems impossible to my mind!" Kamina declared.

Shepard laughed at Miranda's look of distaste. Then the Ouroboros operative flung a datapad at Kamina's face without warning. Even Shepard could do nothing to stop it short of Kamina's face. So all three of them were shocked when the pad stopped a hair short of his nose. The telltale green flare of energy materialized around Kamina's body. Shepard was the first to recover and said with a grin, "I told you he had talent."

Miranda finally actually looked more interested than annoyed. "Yes. I know a lot of fully trained biotics who would have been unable to stop that. You've never trained anywhere?" she asked skeptically.

Kamina smirked. "I guess I'm just a natural."

The contempt flared to life in Miranda's eyes again. Shepard sighed. _Just when I thought they might get along_. She shrugged and closed her eyes while Miranda began to lead Kamina through a few basic exercises. She napped as the shuttle docked with a lager Ouroboros ship and used the relays to fly them to the Terminus Systems. Catching forty winks on a shuttle in transit was a skill every marine needed to learn at some point.

When they reached Freedom's Progress, Shepard was surprised to see that Miranda really was the only Ouroboros operative than came with her. Either they really trusted Miranda or they weren't worried about Shepard making a break for it. Shepard glanced around at the pre-fabricated buildings of the colony. She could probably scrounge up a ship and be on her way if she wanted. First, though, she did need to see what was up with this colony.

They made their way through, Shepard taking point, keeping her Viper at the ready. There was something menacing in the air. It was way too eerie to see an entire colony just empty of people. Shepard had seen more raided colonies than she'd ever wanted to but there were always survivors and corpses and destroyed or burned buildings. There was none of that here. Just empty building after empty building.

So Shepard almost shrieked when a bullet grazed her shield. Even though she held it in, a blush spread across her cheeks. She could only imagine what her N-school instructors would think about an N7 screaming because they were fired at. Shepard ducked behind a nearby crate and took a peek through her scope at what they were facing. _More mechs? What, did all military forces shift to mechs while I was in coma?_ "Kamina!" The young man had his back against the outside of a prefab shed just to Shepard's left. "Miranda and I will cover you. See if you can mix it up with those mechs." He grinned with excitement.

Shepard popped up and started firing, using the semi-automatic nature of her Viper to put a shot or two into each mech, keeping them off balance. Miranda stepped out next to her, spraying her machine gun. Then the Ouroboros operative's omnitool flared to life and one of the mechs simply exploded. _Guess she's not all talk_ , Shepard thought approvingly. Kamina covered the distance to the mech's incredibly fast, an aura of green light around him. He blew the arm and shoulder off one mech with his shotgun and then lashed out a kick at another, smashing it backward. The last one he hammered with the butt of his shotgun, crushing its head.

With a laugh, Shepard settled her rifle on her shoulder. _That worked well._ It reminded her of fighting with Wrex. Her precision let him unleash his full destructive fury. "Yes!" Kamina shouted. Then he gave Shepard a passionate thumbs-up. "We did it!"

"We sure did." Shepard gave him a thumbs-up in return. She glanced at Miranda and found the same look of slight condescension and disgust the woman normally wore. "Christ, Miranda, don't you ever have any fun?" Her frown was all the answer Shepard needed.

"This mission isn't about having fun," Miranda snapped. She scanned one of the downed mechs and said, "These mechs have a central authority. I can follow the signal back and perhaps we can find who sent them after us."

Shepard nodded. She'd been thinking the same thing. "Sound good." She activated the door to a building that would be a shortcut deeper into the complex and stepped inside. The four fully-masked figures just inside leveled their guns at her and Shepard automatically raised her rifle. Then she noticed that one of the figures looked very familiar. "Tali?"

The quarian dropped her shotgun to her side. "Shepard?" she gasped. "How?"

"I could ask the same of you. What are you doing on a human colony in the Terminus?"

"What are you doing _alive_?" Tali fired back.

 _I guess she kind of has me there_. "I'm honestly not sure of the whole story myself yet," Shepard said. "Short answer is that I spent the last two years in a medical coma. I don't know that I've even been awake for twenty-four hours yet."

"That's...insane."

"Yeah...I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around it myself." Shepard sighed. "Your turn, what are you doing on Freedom's Progress?"

Before Tali could answer, another of the quarians snapped his gun up, leveling it at Miranda. "That symbol!" he cried. "That bitch is Ouroboros!" The other quarians hesitantly raised their guns as well.

Tali waved them down. "Stop that!" she commanded. Two of the quarians immediately lowered their weapons but the first one kept his firmly on Miranda. To her credit, she just crossed her arms and stared at him with disdain. "Prazza, I am ordering you to lower your weapon now," Tali said firmly. Shepard blinked. _Tali must be in charge here_. Prazza made a sound of disgust but finally lowered the shotgun.

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Your people seem to have some problems with Ouroboros."

"They infiltrated the Flotilla and murdered several quarians," Prazza snarled.

"Not the way I'd put it," Miranda muttered.

"It doesn't matter right now," Tali insisted. "We need to find Veetor. I could use your help, Shepard."

"Who is Veetor?"

"He's the reason we're here. Veetor is on his pilgrimage right now. He managed to send out a distress call to us when the colony was attacked."

 _He could tell us what happened here!_ "Sure, I'll help you find him. My own mission is to discover what the hell took this colony out. I want to speak to him as much as you. What makes you think he's still alive, though?"

"He's the one controlling these mechs," Tali said sadly. "They've attacked even us, though. I'm not sure what Veetor is doing."

"He mentioned that he had a suit malfunction," Prazza chimed in. "He's probably delirious."

"I see." Shepard rubbed her chin. "Well, it looks like we're all after the same thing. We should work together."

"Sounds good," Tali said happily. "I still can't believe you're alive." The quarian ordered Prazza and the other two to take the lead, while Shepard and Tali followed behind, Miranda and Kamina watching their backs.

"Honestly, I'm still having trouble believing I missed two years," Shepard said quietly as they walked. "How have you been, Tali?"

"It was hard for a while...after we lost the _Normandy_ ," Tali said. Shepard could hear her pain. "I wanted to continue to fight the Reapers but with you gone, nobody seemed to know how to proceed. So I went back to the Flotilla. Thanks to the geth data you let me keep, I had the ability to choose any ship I wanted. My name is Tali'Zorah vas Neema now, by the way." The quarian shrugged. "Since then I've just been doing whatever my people need."

"I imagine they rely on you for quite a bit." Tali nodded ruefully. "Do you know much about what happened to the rest?" Shepard's stomach twisted. "Do you know if many of them survived?"

"Oh, yes, Shepard. There were a few casualties but Liara rounded most of us up before the _Normandy_ completely collapsed." She fiddled with her shotgun. "I don't know what happened to most of them afterward though. Garrus and Adams were the only ones I kept in contact with."

 _Garrus!_ Garrus had practically been her right hand when she was chasing down Saren. If things got testy with Ouroboros, the turian would be invaluable to have around. "What's Garrus been up to?" she asked with forced casualness.

"He was training to be a Spectre," Tali said slowly. "But the last message I got from him said he was quitting because he couldn't stand the politicking. I tried to tell him to stick with it but he never responded. I haven't heard from him since. That was over a year ago."

 _Damn it_. Shepard could tell that Tali was afraid he was dead but Shepard wouldn't believe it until he saw the turian's corpse. Her hands went sweaty and her throat a little dry as she asked the next question. "Do you know what happened to Liara?"

Tali shook her head sadly. "I don't. I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Shepard said. She felt a strange mix of relief and disappointment. _Why do I feel almost scared to learn what happened to her?_ Shepard was broken from her maudlin thoughts when a huge security gate shot up in front of her and she nearly smacked into it. "What the hell?" she muttered.

"Bastard!" Tali cried, slamming her fist against the gate. "Prazza just hot-wired this thing to close on us. He's trying to take Veetor away before you can get to him!"

"Fool," Miranda snarled, catching up with them.

Tali moved to the gate controls and activated her omnitool. "Let me see if I can get it open." After several moments she said something that the translators didn't understand. Shepard assumed it was a particularly filthy curse. "I can't get it! Prazza always had a knack for sabotage. We'll have to go around."

"If we do," Shepard said, "I think your friends might die." Even though Shepard couldn't see the quarian's face behind her mask, the way Tali twisted around told Shepard how surprised she was. "Listen." Sounds of explosions came from beyond the gate.

"Sounds like they found a bigger mech," Miranda commented with a hint of amusement.

Tali let loose with a stream of curses. "There is no choice! We have to find another way. If Prazza survives this, I'm going to murder him!"

"Bah!" Kamina announced. "We don't need to go around. If this big thing is in our way, we just need to go through it."

"And how exactly to you propose we do that?" Miranda drawled. "Idiot."

Kamina flashed her an impossibly cocky grin and green energy started swirling around him. "If something is in our way, we just smash it aside!"

"Don't even try it," Miranda snapped. "I've been practicing my biotics since I was six and I've never moved something half that weight. It's impossible."

"I thought I told you how I felt about the word 'impossible,'" Kamina grunted. He clenched his teeth and beads of sweat popped out on his forehead. The aura around him swirled and pulsed fitfully. "Who the hell do you think I am?' he ground out. Then there was a horrendous shriek and one side of the gate moved up about half a meter and drifted toward them a fraction. Kamina fell to one knee, gasping for breath. Miranda stared at him in absolute shock.

"Great job, Kamina!" Shepard shouted, running up to the gate. The gate was off its hinges and pulled forward enough for Shepard to squeeze her hands through. "Help me with this," she called. Then to get a sense of the weight, she gave it an experimental pull. Shepard was so shocked when the gate actually moved that she let it go. The gate was solid metal and had to weigh at least several hundred kilos. Shepard was no slouch in the weight room but she didn't have the muscle-mass to move something that heavy. _Either the gate is much lighter than it should be or..._ Shepard clenched her fist. She would need to have a talk with Miranda about what exactly she had done while rebuilding Shepard.

 _A conversation for later, though_. Shepard grasped the gate and with a mighty heave, managed to pull it far enough for them to fit through. She darted through right away, drawing her rifle, just in time to see a missile hit the ground right in front of Prazza, flinging him into the sky. Shepard fired off some quick shots, more to get the attention of the giant mech than to actually do any damage. It worked. The lumbering mech turned and fired its machine guns. Shepard dove away from it, rolling behind a nearby building. Miranda and Tali found similar cover. "Miranda," Shepard called. "You and me are going to keep that thing busy. Tali, shut it down." The human and the quarian nodded.

Miranda leaned out and fired a burst from her gun. Then she picked up a loose tire with her biotics and whipped it at the mech's head. The mech turned on her, forcing the Ouroboros operative back into cover. So Shepard peeked out and fired a volley of shots, aiming for the glowing red eye. The heavy mech actually stumbled back from the force of a half dozen shots to the same spot and the thing's shields collapsed. Tali, who had been working around to the back of the mech, didn't waste her chance. He leapt onto the thing's back and jammed her omnitool into the side of its neck.

The mech started shaking and then it flung its arms out wide. "Shit!" Shepard cursed. "Get off that thing now, Tali" The quarian sprung backwards but not in time. The heavy mech exploded, accelerating Tali towards a building. Before she could hit, however, a flash of green light surround her and slowed her pace. The quarian still hit the wall but at a considerably reduced speed. Shepard glanced over her shoulder and found a grinning Kamina, his arm extended toward Tali. He sat down hard. Shepard hesitated a moment but she didn't think over-using biotics would do more than exhaust him. She sprinted up to Tail.

The quarian was sitting up against the wall of the building she had slammed into, shaking her head slowly. "Are you alright?" Shepard asked, kneeling down next to her.

"Somehow," Tali said. Shepard breathed a sigh of relief and stood, offering Tali her hand. The quarian took it and Shepard pulled her to her feet. Tali looked at something over Shepard's shoulder and Shepard craned her neck around, following Tail's gaze. She was pleasantly surprised to see Miranda over one of the downed quarians, dispensing first aid. Tali clearly wasn't as sure about it, since she ducked around Shepard and jogged over to her fellows. Shepard went to Kamina.

"How're you doing, buddy?"

Kamina graced her with a cocky grin. "Just fine, Shepard." He wiped his nose and then goggled when his hand came away bloody. "Eeaugh?!"

"Yeah, maybe you better sit down and relax here for a moment." Shepard clapped him on the shoulder. "Good job, though. I was right to bring you along." She joined Tali and Miranda near the other quarians. "How's it look?"

Tali shook her head. "Fotor is dead," she said sadly. "The moron that got him killed has a broken leg and several suit perforations. I mean to make sure he lives so he can stand trial for this." She glanced up at Shepard and pointed toward a building. "Go and get Veetor so that we can get off this damn planet."

Shepard nodded, unsure of what to say. _She's being nicer than I would be if a soldier under my command pulled a stunt like that_. She went inside the building that Tali had pointed to. A quarian was sitting at a control console, more than a dozen feeds from the colony broadcasting into a grid in front of him. "Veetor?"

"Who are you?" Veetor asked. Shepard could hear the unstableness in his voice. "Why weren't you taken with the others?"

"I just got here." Shepard studied the feeds. None of them showed any activity. Whoever had attacked this colony was long gone. "Tell me what happened here."

"The seeker swarms," Veetor mumbled. "Covered everything. Then they came. Took them all away." He fiddled with something on his console.

Shepard, growing a little annoyed, activated her omnitool and shut the feeds down. Veetor finally turned around to look at her, a trifle unsteady on his feet. " _Who_ took them, Veetor?"

"Myths," Veetor murmured. "Rumors. Legends. Wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it for myself."

"What are you talking about?" Shepard asked with exasperation. "What myths?"

Veetor activated his omnitool and tapped in a command. A hologram began playing. It showed several strange creatures carrying paralyzed humans. The aliens were bipedal with hard green skin that looked like it may be an exoskeleton and four glowing yellow eyes. "Collectors," Veetor whispered.

"Collectors?" Shepard repeated. She'd heard the name before but they were always just a bar rumor. Some mystery aliens that paid vast sums of money for mutants? Nobody took that seriously. _Then again, I've never seen any aliens that look like that. And they are...collecting._ It was something to start on at least. "Veetor, I'll need a copy of all the recordings you took while on Freedom's Progress."

"We'll need more than that, Shepard." Shepard spun around to see Miranda and Tali entering the building. "We'll need to take him with us and properly interrogate him."

"Interrogate!" Tali cried. "You can't be serious. There is no way I am letting Ouroboros take a quarian away. He needs medical attention and antibiotics only the Flotilla can supply."

"We came here to find out what was happening to human colonies." Miranda pointed at Veetor. "That quarian knows things we need to know."

"Why don't you come with us, Tali?" Shepard offered. "That way you could watch out for Veetor. I could use your help."

Tali shook her head and held up both her fingers. "Two reasons, Shepard. Number one, I'm not a trained doctor. I know field medicine but Veetor needs more than that. Number two, I'm an officer in the Flotilla now, not a shipless quarian on my pilgrimage. I can't just up and leave whenever I want."

 _Both good points_ , Shepard thought with a sigh. "Alright, Tali, Veetor goes with you. I'm sure we'll be able to figure out what we need from the omnitool data."

Tali's shoulders slumped with relief. "Thank you, Shepard. I'm glad you're still the woman I knew." Tali crossed the room and began speaking quietly to Veetor.

Miranda glared at Shepard, eyes like icicles. "The Illusive Man will not be happy about this!" she declared.

"Miranda, do you really think I give a damn?" The Ouroboros officer huffed and stormed outside.

They called in their respective shuttles and Shepard helped Tali load her injured comrades aboard theirs. When they were finished, Tali shook Kamina's hand. "Thank you, Kamina. Without you, me and my companions might all be dead now. The quarians owe you a debt."

"Don't worry about it," Kamina said. "I had fun."

Tali giggled and moved to Shepard, wrapping her in a hug. "It was amazing to see you again, Shepard. This galaxy was darker without you in it."

"I'm happy you're doing well, Tali," Shepard said in return. "Please don't hesitate to call me if either you or the Flotilla is in trouble." Tali boarded her shuttled and it took off. The three humans got in their own. The trip back was quiet. Kamina fell asleep almost immediately and started snoring. Shepard wasn't far behind him.

Before she knew it, she was back in the room with the holo of the Illusive Man, a great blue sun at his back. "What did you find?" he rumbled.

"Well, you weren't wrong about the gravity of the situation. How many people lived on Freedom's Progress before the attack?"

"Somewhere in the neighborhood of a million."

"Son of a bitch," Shepard snarled. "And how many colonies have been hit?"

"At least a dozen."

 _My god_. "You were right that this is worthy of my attention. The quarian Veetor seemed to think this was the work a species called the collectors. Do you know anything about them?"

"Not a lot," the Illusive Man admitted. "But I will pour all of Ouroboros' efforts into learning. Can I take it you have decided to work with us?"

"Yes." Shepard narrowed her eyes. "However, make no mistake. I am not working _for_ you. We are partners."

The Illusive Man barked a laugh. "A bold statement, considering it was Ouroboros that remade you."

"Well, you didn't bring me back because I'm a shrinking violet."

The Illusive Man laughed again. "True enough. Fine, I suppose that we can be _partners."_ The way he said that put Shepard's teeth on edge. "Miranda will continue to function as the liaison between you and Ouroboros." Shepard nodded in agreement. At least she knew how to push Miranda's buttons. "There is another Ouroboros soldier who's services I would like to offer. He's a pilot. One of the best."

"Hey, Commander," a familiar voice said behind her.

Shepard turned and gasped, "Joker?" The former pilot of the _Normandy_ smiled sheepishly at her.

"I will be in contact," the Illusive man announced. Then he faded away along with the blue sun and the lights came on in the room.

"He's kind of a creeper, right?" Joker said with a slight shake of his head.

"He's something." Shepard cocked her head. "How did you end up with Ouroboros, Joker?"

The pilot smiled. "I'll show you. Come on." He waved at her and left the room, shuffling slightly because of his Vrolik syndrome. As confused as Shepard was by his presence, she was also delighted. Joker was a phenomenal pilot. She followed him through the station, catching Kamina's eyes and gesturing for him to follow when she spotted him. Joker led them to a docking berth. As the dock started to light up, Joker said, "This I why I joined Ouroboros."

Shepard gasped as the _Normandy_ was revealed. No, not the _Normandy_. This ship was bigger, even if it had the same profile of her old ship. "The Alliance black-balled anybody who stuck up for you, Commander," Joker continued. "Tried to make me a flight school instructor in bumpkin-ass nowhere. Ouroboros told me they were building a bigger and better version of the _Normandy_ and they wanted me to pilot it. Hell yeah I joined up."

"It's incredible," Shepard said a little breathlessly. "Still, Joker, do you really think you can trust Ouroboros and the Illusive Man?"

"Not really. I don't trust the Alliance brass either though." Joker smiled affectionately at the ship. "Ouroboros rebuilt you and my baby so they've done more for me than the Alliance ever has. I guess we just need a name," he added wistfully.

"Oooooh!" Kamina jumped in. "I know! We'll call it the _Space Gurren_!"

"What?" Joker gaped at him. "Who the hell is this guy, Commander?" Shepard responded only with an enigmatic smile.

"No. We should call it _Gurren Ship...Great Gurren Ship?_ " Kamina crossed his arms and rocked his head from side to side. "That's not right either. It is definitely a Gurren of some kind, though."

"Listen, you whack job. That wasn't a real suggestion. The ship already has a name."

"I've got it!" Kamina shouted, pounding a fist into the palm of his hand and clearly ignoring Joker. " _Gurren Senkan!_ " Shepard doubled over laughing at this point, mostly at the look on Joker's face. "No! _Dai-Gurren Senkan_!"

 **Author's Notes:** There you have it, the first chapter in my attempt to fuse the Mass Effect and Gurren Lagann universes. You many have noticed that biotic energy is green instead of purple. That is an element of the fusion and will be explained as we go further along. Also, yes, there is no Jacob in this fic. I thought Kamina replaced him rather nicely (honestly, I'm not sure what narrative purpose Jacob serves in the ME2 story). He won't be the only ME2 character replaced or missing as we go along. Most of the ME2 companions will be present but I don't want to get bogged down with too many characters. Obviously Miranda and Tali are present (and to assuage any fears, Garrus will be present as well).

I'm not sure if me referring to Shepard exclusively as Shepard works or not. It's how I think of her but I could give her a first name if its annoying. I also have no real plan in mind for pairings. Obviously Shepard was with Liara in the first game (Liara is my Shepard's space-love, even if she space-cheated on her with Garrus in the second game) but I could go either way on them getting back together. Even if they don't end up together, I'm going to play with the idea of Kamina/Miranda. Miranda came out pretty tsundere in this fic and we all know tsudere's love Kamina. If there is anything particular you'd like to see, don't hesitate to let me know. I'm pretty reluctant to do Kamina/Shepard, though. I'm more partial to the idea of them being partners a la Kamina and Simon.

If you have any other questions, please let me know. Thank you everybody for reading! I have a lot of the next chapter written so hopefully I'll have it up soon.

Kuragari


	2. Chapter 2

**No Such Thing as Miracles**

" _Gurren Senken! Gurren Senken!_ " Kamina insisted.

"What the hell does it even mean?" Joker snapped. "What even is a 'gurren?'"

Kamina rubbed in chin. "Y'know, Gurren is a kind of..." He flexed his bicep and then slapped it. "...or more like..." He thrust his hips a couple of times. "...just an all around..." He threw a punch combination and then spun around and struck a pose, his arm thrust toward Joker out with this fingers splayed. "Yeah?"

"No!" Joker cradled his head. "What are you doing. Make him stop, Shepard!"

This argument had been funny when it started. Hours ago. "How about you both shut up for a while?" she said wearily.

"But, Shepard, we still haven't decided on a name for the ship!" Kamina protested.

"Yes, we have," Joker said through clenched teeth.

Fortunately, Miranda came through the door before Shepard had a chance to respond. After taking a tour of the ship, they had settled into a room on the third level of the ship that had a nice view. "Ah, good. EDI said that you were all here," Miranda said. EDI was the ship's AI. Shepard wasn't sure how she felt about that, having killed more geth than the average marine. So far the AI had seemed like little more than a VI, though no VI could conduct electronic warfare on the level of EDI. Shepard also wasn't foolish enough to believe that the AI was anything less than a super-effective spy for the Illusive Man. "The final member of our crew has arrived," Miranda continued.

"You go on," Joker said. "I already met the guy." Something in his voice told Shepard that Joker hadn't enjoyed the meeting. "I'll rest here for a bit and head to the cockpit."

Shepard nodded and followed Miranda out of the room, Kamina trailing behind. They rode the elevator up to the second deck and Miranda took them to room just to the side of their conference area, which had been set up as a lab. The man waiting inside was slim, wearing a purple jumpsuit and had close-cropped green hair. He turned to them and Shepard noticed that he had eye shadow artfully applied. She raised an eyebrow. Between him and Miranda, Ouroboros certainly didn't seem to have the kind of regulations Shepard was used to in the Alliance Navy. "This is—" Miranda began.

"Leeron!" Kamina shouted. "Leeron?! What are you doing here?"

"I don't believe we've ever met," Leeron said amicably. "But that is my name."

Miranda gazed suspiciously at Kamina. "How do you know Leeron?"

"Uh, he..." Kamina brushed a hand through his hair, looking completely out of sorts. "I met him on Earth. Leeron, it's me! Kamina!"

Leeron drifted over to Kamina and looked up at him. Then he ran a hand down Kamina's arm and winked suggestively. "If I'd ever met you, I'd certainly remember. You are definitely my type."

Kamina shouted in alarm and jumped backward, drawing his shotgun. "You are Leeron!"

"Put that gun away!" Shepard snapped. Kamina reluctantly collapsed his gun. "Now explain, Kamina. How do you know Leeron?"

Kamina pointed at Leeron. "He was the mechanic for Gurren Lagann. He was from Littner Village. Me and Simon met him after we escaped."

"Littner? Gurren?" Leeron shook his head. "Sorry, honey, you're not making any sense."

Kamina threw up his hands. "Ah, whatever, Leeron!" He stomped away.

Shepard watched him go. _I'll have to follow up on that sooner rather than later._ Leeron stuck out a hand and said, "All that aside, it is a pleasure to meet you, Commander."

"Thanks. Good to meet you too." Shepard shook his hand. _Though I'm not sure if I'm still a commander._

"Leeron is Ouroboros top scientist," Miranda said. "He's here to develop a countermeasure to the seeker swarms that have been attacking colonies and any other problems we run up against."

"Sounds like you'll be an asset, Leeron," Shepard said with a smile. _More Ouroboros personnel. I suppose I should have expected this. Even Joker is technically Ouroboros._

"I hope to be," Leeron said with a slightly cocky smile.

"Now that we're all aboard," Miranda said. "We should see about following up some leads. The Illusive Man has been in contact with a krogan warlord named Okeer. He's been selling other krogan to the collectors so he may know something about them. He's also suggested that he might be willing to join us if we can meet some demands. I have the coordinates for the facility he is on. Shall we head there?"

"Not so fast, Miranda," Shepard said. "This is my operation, is it not?"

"Well, yes, but—"

Shepard cut her off. "And I am in command, right?"

"Yes, you are, but—"

"Then I will review all _suggestions_ from the Illusive Man and decide if and when we act upon them. So for now, ask Joker to set course for the Citadel."

"The Citadel?" Miranda gasped. "Why?"

"Because I said so, Miranda. Now scurry along and tell Joker." Miranda's face went a little red and she didn't move. " _Now,_ Miranda." With a huff, Miranda stalked away.

"Oooh, harsh," Leeron said, not sounding displeased.

"Miranda will try and take over this operation if I let her. Things will run smoother if I put her in her place right away."

"I can't say I disagree." Leeron waved a hand. "You don't have to worry about Leeron, though. I'm just happy to work in my little lab."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Glad to hear it." She left him behind and took the elevator up to the top deck. All of which was apparently given over to her cabin. _Quite a bit more opulent that the my cabin aboard the old Normandy_. She glanced at the desk and grimaced. A picture of Liara stared back at her. _How had they known about her?_ Shepard hadn't put the picture up. It had been there when she first stepped in the room. The Illusive Man wasn't somebody who did things without a purpose. It was an implied threat. _I need to find her._

 _First things first, though_. Shepard sat down at her terminal and punched in a number she hoped to god still worked. After a moment, it connected and the head and shoulders of Captain David Anderson materialized on her desk. "This is Anderson—" He started, sounding annoyed. Then he gasped. "Shepard! Is that really you?"

"Yup. It's really me. Somehow. How're you doing?"

"Shitty. But maybe a little better now. What happened to you, Shepard?"

Shepard rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm not totally sure. I got spaced when the _Normandy_ blew. I'm sure you heard that from Joker. Then I woke up in a lab two years later, told that I was brought back from veritable death and have been in a coma for all that time."

"Christ," Anderson muttered. "At least you're alive. Things have turned into a real shitshow without you, Shepard. Everybody but me seems to want to sweep what you uncovered under the rug. We need you back. This is a goddamn miracle."

"No such thing as miracles, old friend. I might be back but things are already complicated as hell. The ones who saved my life are Ouroboros. They're probably recording this even."

"Shit," Anderson cursed. "Ouroboros. Are you sure?"

Shepard nodded. "Met the Illusive Man himself."

"Huh. I never would have imagined those terrorists doing something like this. Do you know why?"

"Yeah. The Illusive Man is worried about the reapers. More specifically, he wants me to figure out what is going on with the missing colonists in the Terminus Systems."

Anderson narrowed his eyes. "I've been hearing reports of that. Not a whole hell of a lot I can do about it though. Those colonists left Alliance space. They don't want my help."

"Maybe so but they're still people," Shepard said. "And I have a bad feeling about it. The populations of the colonies are disappearing in whole with no evidence of a fight. Only the reapers have that kind of tech."

"You may be right, Shepard," Anderson said. "I wish you luck. I wouldn't trust Ouroboros if I were you though."

"I don't." Anderson looked relieved. "Listen, Captain, there was another reason I called."

"What is it?"

"Do you know if I am still a Spectre?"

Anderson rubbed his chin. "I actually don't. You never lost your status but you have been presumed dead for two years. I'll have to ask the other Councilors."

"See if you can't confirm my status. It should allow me more freedom to act on my own rather than rely on Ouroboros."

"I see you point." Anderson nodded. "I'll do my best."

"Thanks. I'd also appreciate it if you put in a word to Admiral Hackett. I haven't reported in yet which might make me AWOL."

"Sure. He might want to talk to you."

"I expected he would. I'm coming to the Citadel straight away so we'll speak more when I get there."

"Sounds good, Shepard." He smiled. "It's damn good to have you back."

She grinned. "Glad to be back, sir." Anderson signed off and the grin slipped away from Shepard. _This is going to be a huge mess. Two freaking years!_ Two lost years. Who knew how far the reapers had advanced in that time? On the other hand, this was an opportunity she had to take advantage of. She was free of all of the obligations she'd had when she 'died.' It was time to things right. Get set up as an actual Spectre. She'd had to go after Saren straight away after being made a Spectre and then been pushed off to hunt down geth. There was no time to set herself up as an independent force like other Spectres. She'd just been a special agent for both the Council and the Alliance Navy. All the red tape and divided loyalties that a Spectre wasn't supposed to have to deal with.

 _No more._ Shepard flopped down on her bed. _This time I'm going to do it right. I can't be beholden or subordinate to anyone if I want to take down the reapers. The Council, Alliance, and Ouroboros all have there own goals and motivations._ They'd all want a piece of her. Shepard fell asleep determined not to let any of them get it.

"Commander." Shepard awoke to EDI speaking to her over the intercom. "We have reached the Citadel."

"Thank you, EDI." She gave the blue sphere that represented EDI a considering look. "You're always watching me, aren't you?"

"Affirmative, Shepard."

"Lovely." Shepard got out of bed, took a quick shower and brushed her teeth. Then she donned her armor and took the elevator to the second deck. A sour Miranda and an excited Kamina waited for her. "I guess you two are coming along?"

"Of course! Miranda said the Citadel was the center of the universe. Of course I'd want to see that!" Kamina shouted.

"Figuratively speaking," Miranda muttered. Then, in a normal tone, she asked, "If you don't mind, Shepard?"

"Of course not." They all exited the ship and Shepard frowned. This was a civilian port that she was unfamiliar with. _What did you expect? They're not going to let this ship into the Alliance military port_. There were advertisements everywhere and dozens of people bustling around the small port entrance. Not at all like she was used to. Miranda glanced around in disinterest but Kamina was staring with his red eyes wide as saucers.

"What is that?!" he practically screamed, pointing at a turian passing by. "Some kind of bird beastman? Birdman?!"

The turian glanced at Kamina and swiftly hurried the other way. Miranda slapped Kamina's hand down. "Don't point and keep your voice down! Could you at least try not to act like a complete moron?" Kamina rubbed his hand and glared at Miranda.

Shepard chuckled. "Try and keep an eye on him, Miranda."

"Huh? Where are you going?" Miranda asked with near panic.

"To meet with the Council." Shepard flashed a hard smile. "Spectre business."

"Wait, Shepard! What?" Miranda called desperately as Shepard walked away.

Kamina, playing is part to a tee, shouted over her, "Oy! Oy, Miranda! What is that thing? Lizardman?! Don't run lizardman!"

Shepard jogged away but froze as alarms started to go off. The turian monitoring the door said, "Sorry. Hang on a second." He pressed some buttons on his omnitool. "Huh. Says here you're dead." Then he snapped his head up and studied her. "Spectre?"

Shepard shrugged and tried to look apologetic. "Technically I was, for a little while at least."

"Okay..." the turian shook his head. "You'll have to see my supervisor." He directed her to the office of a C-Sec officer named Bailey.

Bailey was kind enough to see her right away and Shepard sat down in the chair in front of his desk. "So, back from the dead, huh?" He laughed. "This actually happens more than you would think."

Shepard brushed a lock of red hair behind her ear. "So what can I do about it?"

"Paperwork!" Baily said with perverse delight. "Our scanners have already verified that you are you but there is still plenty of bureaucracy to get through." He sent her a file and Shepard opened it on her omnitool.

She groaned. "Seriously?"

Baily shrugged. "Spending the year dead is a popular tax dodge. Unless the Council can intervene on your behalf, there isn't much choice. But I'll fix it so you stop sounding the alarm at least."

"Thanks, Bailey." Shepard got up and poked her head out the door. She was relieved not to see Miranda or Kamina. First she stopped by a human food seller and picked up a gyro for breakfast, then she went straight to Anderson's office. The human councilor was wearing clothing very similar to the dress blues of the Alliance navy but different enough to be distinct from the uniform. _I know trying to walk that line all to well, Captain_. Anderson got to his feet at the sight of her and hurried around his desk. He clapped her hand in his and shook it strongly.

"It's damn good to see you," he said warmly.

"You, too, sir." She studied his face. He looked beaten down. "You look like hell, though, if I may say so."

Anderson laughed. "You never were one to mince words." He sighed. "It's this job. I might not have taken it if I knew what I was getting into. I'm not cut out for the political games. I can't stand all the ambiguity and double-speak. The other councilors would rather turn a blind eye to anything unpleasant if they can keep power for themselves and their races."

"I've heard others saying similar things." Shepard shook her head in disbelief. "Is it true that all my warnings about the reapers have gone ignored all this time?"

Anderson nodded with a long-suffering frown. "I've been beating my head against a wall for two years trying to get them to accept the threat. They think that we're over-blowing the threat to keep humanity in power. Irissa, in particular, believes you let the other Council die on purpose." Shepard clenched her fists and grit her teeth. _How could they think that? That was the hardest decision of my life!_ "Quentius is the only one who even sometimes listens to me. Without his support, I think the Council would have stripped your Spectre status."

"Quentius?"

"The new turian councilor. He's not nearly as much of an ass as the other one."

Shepard nodded. Turians could be real pains in the ass but they did seem more likely to look a hard truth in the face than the other species. "So my Spectre status has been upheld?" Anderson nodded. "And I'll have access to Spectre resources? Lines of credit? Back pay?"

"Sure, Shepard." He looked at her curiously. "Why so concerned with money?"

Shepard shrugged. "I'm not going to have the Alliance backing me on this mission, right? I'll need money for information, weapons, supplies and whatever else."

"Good point," Anderson conceded. "I'll make sure you have resources equal to any Spectre in service. The other councilors want nothing to do with you so you're free to do as you like. If you think this mission is important, you have my full support."

"That means a lot to me, Councilor."

Anderson eyed her. "I thought you were working for Ouroboros now, though? Don't they pay?"

"Working _with_. I'm going to stay as independent as possible."

"Good to hear, Shepard."

"So," Shepard said, taking a seat. "Why don't you bring me up to speed with what I've missed over the past couple years."

A couple hours later, Shepard left Anderson's office, shaking her head. _How can they have grown so complacent? How could they forget the giant freaking spaceship that crushed their most powerful fleet, killed their top leaders and nearly took over the Citadel? Do they really think the geth are capable of that?_ It was infuriating to think about. At least Anderson was still on her side. He'd even promised to her whole 'death' situation sorted out without her going through all the hoops. The Captain had also moved all of her belongings into storage when the lease on her apartment had expired. Shepard arranged to have them moved to her cabin. It wasn't like she had a lot.

After she did that, Shepard did a little research and found the volus she was looking for. She strode into his little office and said, "Barla Von! Long time, no see."

It was impossible to see his reaction, since all volus needed to wear full suits when off their home planet. The length of time it took him to respond suggested shock, however. "Shepard," he finally said. "I thought you were dead." His rebreather made his voice sound breathy and thick.

Shepard rubbed the back of her neck. "I have a feeling I am going to be hearing that a lot."

"You don't understand," Von said. "If _I_ didn't know you were alive, then how many people could? This is very valuable information."

Shepard suppressed a grin. _Yes, he is just the person I need._ "It might also interest you to know, then, that my Spectre status has been upheld by the new Council."

"Yes, Shepard, that is very valuable information." Von twisted his bulk around. "So what can I do for you?"

"Down to business." Shepard took a seat. "I think we're going to work very well together."

"Work together?"

"That's right. I'm a Spectre, which means I need to set up my own information network. You have the honor of being my first contact."

Von paused a moment before speaking, his rebreather cycling. "My rates are very high, Shepard. I am already an agent of the Shadow Broker, in any case."

"I'm not asking you to betray the Shadow Broker. I came to you _because_ you're an agent of the Broker. You have connections in this universe that neither the Council nor the Alliance has. I just need your help finding some people and researching a few obscure topics."

"I see. Yet I am still uncertain you could afford me. My clients are...elite."

Shepard knew he was just being honest, not trying to antagonize her. She activated her omnitool and sent a few files his way. "You're a financial advisor in addition to being an info broker right? That's an estimate of all the money I'll have once I receive my back pay and my accounts are unfrozen."

"Not an insignificant amount but are you willing to give me your entire life-savings in return for a few pieces of information?"

"No but I'm willing to let you pay yourself. You a finance expert. Take that money and turn it into more money for yourself."

"So you want me to work for you and pass you information? That sounds like a very good deal for you."

Shepard smiled and leaned forward. "What if I were also to give you access to an unlimited line of credit from the Council?" Von stared at her. It was next to impossible to tell what a volus was thinking but she thought she had his attention now. "Anderson has promised to get me one. A clever and enterprising volus such as yourself could make use of such a thing. You know that Spectres operate with very loose supervision. I am sure that you are smart enough to use that credit line to make us both considerably richer without tipping off the Council."

Von said nothing for a long time, only the sounds of his breather filling the office. Then he said, "I think we may be able to work something out, Shepard."

 **Part 2**

"So what is that thing? It's huge!" Kamina asked.

Miranda sighed, her chin in her hand. "It's a krogan. Stop staring at him or he'll try to kill you. Krogan consider staring to be a challenge."

Kamina considered continuing to glare, just to see what would happen. He sighed and looked away, not wanting to make Miranda mad. He couldn't believe somebody so beautiful could be such a bitch. Kind of like Yoko actually. He felt a little pang in his chest at the thought of Yoko. He'd promised to return her kiss after the battle against Dai-Gunzun. Now that probably wouldn't ever happen. The few things he'd heard about Earth since he'd woken up in this strange world suggested that it was nothing like the Earth he knew. But Kamina literally had no idea how that could be or what to do about it. For now, sticking with Shepard seemed like it would be fun. He was surprised that he missed Yoko nagging at him as much as he missed Simon, though. _Maybe I should give Miranda another chance. Yoko certainly surprised me._

A woman stopped by their table and set food in front of both of them. "Tonkotsu ramen with veggies for the lady and tempura ramen for the man. Enjoy."

"Thank you, Anne," Miranda said with a kind smile.

The waitress walked away and Kamina said, "You look nice when you smile."

She scowled at him. "Eat your ramen." Kamina sighed at picked up one of the shrimp. "Use a fork or the chopsticks!" Miranda snapped. "Good lord."

"Alright, alright!" Kamina used his fork to scoop up the shrimp tempura and popped it into his mouth. He chewed once and tears welled up in his eyes. "So good!" He shoveled some of the noodles in his mouth the tears actually started leaking down his face. "So much better than pigmole steak!"

"I'm...glad you like it," Miranda said. She was eating her own ramen at a considerably slower pace. "Pigmole steak?" she muttered under her breath.

Kamina finished off his ramen quickly and then ordered another bowl, this time the same kind of ramen that Miranda had only with beef instead of vegetables. He finished the second bowl and leaned back in contentment. There were a lot of nice things about this world. Chief among them was the fact that they were out among the stars. Kamina had always wanted to visit the moon. Now he was on a big floating space-city. If only Simon could be here with him!

"Well, I wonder what we should do now," Miranda said. "I never expected Shepard to ditch us like this. Maybe we should head back to the _Normandy?_ "

" _Gurren Senken_ ," Kamina corrected her absently. "Why would you want to go back? We have this whole city to explore!"

"What's to explore? The Zekera Ward is mostly just full of expensive tourist traps."

"There are so many weird things, though." He spotted one of them walking by. "Oh! I know those things. Uh, uh, Tali was one."

"Quarian," Miranda supplied.

"Right! I meant to ask her. Why do they wear those suits?"

"Quarians have weak immune systems. If they breath unfiltered air or come in contact with strange bacteria, they're likely to die."

Kamina frowned. _I didn't understand a word of that_. He didn't think it would be smart to push Miranda on it though so he just said, "Is that so?" He crossed his arms. "If you know this Citadel, there must be something you like to do here."

"I suppose the Presidium is nice."

Kamina banged his fist on the table, rattling the bowls. "Let's go there then!"

"Calm down, alright?" Miranda stood up. "I suppose it is better than sitting around here, though."

Kamina followed her out. Kamina followed behind her, his head on a swivel. There were so many interesting things to see. He really hoped he got to meet a krogan or a turian soon. They seemed tough. When they reached the Presidium, Miranda took him to a big lake. Kamina thought that the Presidium was weird. The lake and all the trees in the same place as buildings. He was impressed by the big statue of a krogan, though. _It would be neat if I had a big statue._ That seemed to tickle at a memory but he couldn't call it up.

He squatted at the edge of the lake and stared into the blue water. He could see little fishes moving around in it. The water looked very refreshing. Kamina stood up and started removing his armor. "What are you doing?" Miranda asked.

"I think I'll go for a dive," Kamina grunted, pulling his breastplate over his head and dumping it on the ground next to him.

"I don't think you are allowed in the water," Miranda said, crossing her arms.

"Why not?" Kamina hopped around, pulling his boot off.

"It's just for atmosphere. Not for idiots to play in!"

"Don't be like that," Kamina lost his balance pulling off his second boot and fell into the lake with a shout of alarm. The water was nice though. Pleasantly cool. Kamina waded out deeper. "Come on, Miranda. It's nice."

"Absolutely not." Miranda glared at him with her icy blue eyes.

Kamina frowned. Then he stretched out with his new biotic powers. He wasn't quite sure how they worked but he'd been experimenting as much as he could. No point in a new power unless he used it to the max, right? Kamina goosed Miranda on the butt. She leapt forward with a cry of surprise and then her boots slipped on the bank and she tumbled in. Kamina laughed at her. On all fours, Miranda gave him a murderous glare, quite different from her normal cold distain. A green aura surround her and she used and biotic burst to dump a huge wave of water on him. Kamina tumbled backwards, completely enveloped.

Once he could see again, Kamina was treated to the sight of a very smug Miranda. _Two can play at the game._ Kamina called up his new powers and punched the surface of the water. A circular wave spread out in all directions from him and, of course, hit Miranda. It dumped her on to her bottom again. "Damn it!" she yelled. Kamina put his hands up expecting a retaliation. Instead, to his vast surprise, Miranda started laughing. "You're really getting pretty good."

Kamina didn't put his hands down. This was weird. "R-really."

"Yes. Most people don't have enough control to both create a big wave and do something as subtle as...pinching my ass. You're no asari but..." Miranda stood and brushed the dirt off her backside. Kamina blushed. Not only was that the first nice thing he could remember Miranda ever saying to him but her clothes were clinging to her even more now that she was wet. His stomach tightened. _What do they feed the girls in this universe to give them bodies like that?_

Before Kamina could think of anything to say, they were interrupted by one of the birdmen. _Turians_ , Kamina remembered. He had a rifle cradled in his arms. "Alright, humans, that's enough frolicking. Get on out of there."

Just like that, Miranda was back to being furious, shooting him a look that promised retribution. Kamina sighed. _I saw enough of those types in Giha village._ The type that hated to get in trouble more than anything. Kamina waded out of the pond behind Miranda. My the time he made it to the surface, the turian arm had turned orange— _omnitool,_ Kamina remembered—and was typing into it while saying. "I'm mailing you both the standard fine for entering the lake." He typed a few more times and then glanced at Kamina. "Er, where is you omnitool?"

Kamina brushed his wet hair from his face. "I don't have one."

"What? Who the hell doesn't have an omnitool? Who are you?"

Kamina smiled and rubbed his chin. "Kamina," he said. "The Great Leader of the Gurren Brigade, Kamina-sama! Now a proud member of _Gurren Senken_!" He pointed up. "The gallant ship that pierces the stars!" He held his pose for effect.

The turian looked from him to Miranda, who had her head in her hands, and then said, "You're weird, kid. I think you better come to the station with me."

"What?!" Miranda yelped. "Officer, that's really not necessary is it?"

"I'll decide what is necessary, human."

Miranda braced but Kamina never got to see what she was planning because the next second, Shepard came up behind her and threw an arm around her shoulders. "Ah, officer, my friends aren't giving you any trouble are they?"

"As a matter of fact, they are, human. Who are you?"

"Shepard." Her fierce blue eyes went hard even as the rest of her face remained gregarious. "Council Spectre."

"Yeah, right. Shepard is dead." The turian fiddled with his omnitool for a few seconds and they his face went panicky. "Oh, shit, it is you. My apologies, Spectre."

"So there isn't going to be a problem, right?"

"No, of course not. Have a nice day." The turian practically sprinted away from them. Kamina gazed at Shepard with new respect. She didn't have an imposing stature and her features were a little too harsh to be beautiful, especially with the scars on her face that seemed to glow every now and again. Yet, there was a strange gravity to her. Kamina thought it was the eyes. They were so self-assured. It wasn't bravado or arrogance, just an absolute surety. She reminded of him of Simon. Rather, what Simon might have become one day.

"Thanks, Shepard," Miranda said, disentangling herself from the woman.

"No problem."

"I guess your Spectre status was reinstated."

"Yup." Shepard looked askance and Miranda and then whistled. "Damn, Miranda, you look like the your getting ready for a pictorial in Fornax."

Miranda quickly crossed her arms over her chest. "His Kamina's fault!" she wailed. "He pulled me into the water."

Shepard laughed and gave him a thumbs up. "Good work, buddy."

Kamina started and then grinned widely. _I really did luck out running into her_. He gave her a thumbs up in return and said, "Any time!"

Miranda threw up her hands. "You're both impossible!" Kamina and Shepard both spontaneously started clapping. Miranda returned her hands to her breasts. "God damn it!"

Shepard laughed again and said, "Alright, enough playing around. I have our next destination. Omega."

"Omega?" Miranda spat. "What could possibly be on that pisshole?"

"An old friend," Shepard said enigmatically. "Before that, though. Is there anything you need before we leave the Citadel, Kamina? I know you don't have any belongings. The Citadel has just about anything you could think of."

Kamina though moment. "Anything, huh?"

A few hours later, Kamina was aboard the _Gurren Senken_ , admiring his reflection in the glass of the starboard observation deck. Kamina liked it here, where he could see the stars, and Shepard had told him to make himself at home here. Kamina was in his armor only, with the addition of a red cloak with gold fasteners, just like his old one. He had also donned a pair of red pointed shades exactly akin to the ones his father had given him so long ago. The Citadel really was an amazing place.

Kamina admired himself for a few moments more and then sighed. He removed his armor and sank on to one of the couches, feeling drained. It was so easy for him to remain upbeat when he was around other people but it was harder alone. This was like a dream. Aliens, new powers, ships that could travel through space with ease. It was also overwhelming. Everybody just knew everything about all of these new things. They all expected him to know too and didn't know what he didn't know. And Earth. He couldn't even make himself ask about it. How could it be so different?

He kicked his foot idly. He missed Simon. His blood brother was the one who was supposed to freak out so Kamina could put a brave face on things. Then Simon would be the one to diligently figure out what they needed to know. They were two sides of the same coin. And Yoko. Kamina rubbed a hand over his face. _Why did you wait until the night before to tell me how you felt? You should have known I was too stupid to figure it out myself_. Kamina drifted into a restless sleep, full of half-remembered images of gunmen, Simon and slaughter.

Shepard's hand on his shoulder woke him up. "Are you alright?" she asked softly.

Kamina sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Y-yeah. What's up?"

Shepard's eyes flashed in excitement. "I got something for you."

The fuzzy gloominess of his dreams was washed away. "Yeah?"

"Yup. An omnitool. You need one to function in this universe. I guess Miranda shoved a translator device behind one ear but you need a true omnitool."

Kamina deflated a little. "I don't know if I know how to work one."

Shepard waved away his protest. "I'll show you." She took his arm and soon the orange glow of the omnitool surround it. "Simple stuff for now. This is how to open doors." She laughed. "You won't need me or Miranda to escort you around now." Kamina was grateful for that at least. He pointed at the door to the observation deck and it opened and closed.

"Cool," he said happily.

"It gets better. A lot of people don't know you can use the omnitool as a weapon. I'm kind of an aficionado myself so I looked up how to do it." She moved around until she was beside him rather than in front. Then she pressed a button and the tool lengthened and sharpened until he had a half-meter long blade jutting out from his arm. Kamina took a couple of experimental swings, awed. "I know you said that you liked to use a sword and you like to get up close. This will let you skewer some bad guys when you do." She winked at him.

"Thank you, Shepard." Kamina felt a rush of gratitude, an emotion he wasn't used to feeling. He wasn't sure what he would have done if he hadn't run into Shepard.

She stretched. "I'm going to get some sleep now. You better get ready for Omega. It's a lot like the Citadel. Only horrible."

Kamina watched her leave and then sat back. _Omega sounds interesting._ He got back up and wandered out of the observation deck. There were two doors just outside of the deck. He glanced at one. _That's the crew quarters and this other one in the toilet._ He brought up his omnitool and pointed it at the door. "Open," he commanded, pressing what he thought was the right button. Nothing happened. Kamina growled and hit the button again.

""Mister Kamina, I feel I should inform you that—"

"Not now, EDI," Kamina snapped. "This stupid thing isn't working." Kamina's fingers flew over the tool. The door finally opened. "There!" he cried. _Persistence pays off!_ He looked up. The sight beyond exceeded his wildest dreams. Miranda straightened up slowly, water running down her body. She didn't move to cover up, instead glaring at him with eyes cold as the blackest stretches of space. Kamina found that he couldn't move. _There are miracles!_

"Close the goddamn door already, EDI!"

The door closed. Kamina blinked. Then his mind snapped into coherence and he leaped away from the door. Sweat beaded on his forehead and he felt hyped up, like he was about to fight somebody. "I was trying to say before, Mister Kamina," EDI said. "That you were attempting to access the women's facilities. The men's are this way. I have taken the liberty to light up a guided path to the male facilities for you."

 **Part 3**

"Aria doesn't like to be kept waiting, human," the batarian said.

Kamina gaped at him. The batarian was spectacularly ugly. _How many eyes does he have?!_ It hit Kamina that this was one of the creatures that destroyed Shepard's home village. He'd thought she'd meant beastman but this creature was uglier than any beastman Kamina had every seen. And now this thing was trying to bully Shepard. That didn't set right with Kamina. He stepped around Shepard so that he was eye to eyes with the batatrain. "Oy! Shepard with see this Aria when she feels like it." He poked a finger into the batarian's chest.

The batarian slapped his hand away. "I don't know where you think you are, human, but this is Omega. Shepard's reputation doesn't mean shit to us."

Shepard laughed. Not her normal laugh but a dark chuckle that made the hair on Kamina's neck stand up. She grasped a handful of the batarian's jumpsuit and pulled him close. "It should, batarian, it really should. Do you know how many of your species I personally murdered on Torfan? Do you know that I watched the Council die because it served my purpose? You know I convinced Saren, the most terrifying Spectre that ever lived, until me, to shoot himself in the head rather than fight me again?" She shoved away the batarian who stumbled and fell on his ass. "Yeah. You run along to Aria and make sure she know she can put to rest her little intimidation games."

The batarian scrambled to his feet and ran away. "What is wrong with you two?" Miranda cried plaintively. "We just got here and you already piss enough the woman who runs this place?"

"Aria's a bully," Shepard said with a shrug. "If she thinks she can intimidate us, she will."

"And if she thinks she can't, she'll probably try and kill you."

"She can try," Kamina said, flexing his hands.

"She could," Shepard agreed, smiling at Kamina. He grinned back.

Miranda dropped her head into her hands. "Sweet lord, give me the strength." She looked up. "What are we even doing here again?"

"Trying to find an old friend," Shepard said. "He's going by the name Archangel."

"I've heard of him," Miranda said. "Some kind of vigilante, right?"

"Right." Shepard nodded. "Well, I suppose we should go and see Aria."

Miranda stumbled and Kamina was forced to catch her. Once she was stable on her feet again, she asked with disbelief, "After all of that you're going straight to Aria, anyway?"

"Sure. She seems likely to have the information we need and she did invite us," Shepard said. "I just didn't want her to think I was coming because she commanded me to." Kamina nodded.

Miranda shook her head. "I don't understand you at all." Shepard just laughed.

They made their way to the club called _Afterlife_ , where the batarian had said that Aria would be waiting for them. Shepard simply stared down the batarian bouncer that tried to bar their way. The inside of the club was dazzling. It was dark except of the bright violet lights here and there. The music was felt more than heard, deep pulsing rhythms that traveled through Kamina's body. And on the bars and raised stages were asari. Kamina had thought that their tentacle heads looked kind of odd but now, slithering to the music in skintight clothing—when they were wearing anything at all—Kamina was entranced.

A sharp elbow to his ribs broke him out of it. "Keep your eyes in your head," Miranda hissed.

Shepard shook her head. "And I said I'd take you to _Chora's Den_. That place doesn't even sniff this one _."_ Kamina noticed her appraising the asari as much as he had been. _Interesting._ Shepard shook her head. "Time for this later. Let's go find Aria."

They went to the lounge overlooking the rest of the club. The batarians guarding it let them pass by with only suspicious looks until they reached the top. "Hold," one of them said. He started running his omnitool over them.

Aria was standing with her back to them. Kamina could see that her skin was a lot more purple than most of the asari he had seen. "If you think I'm giving up my weapons..." Shepard began menacingly.

"Of course I don't. Only a true moron goes unarmed at any time on Omega. I'm merely ascertaining that you are who you say you are. It's not hard to change your face," Aria said.

Shepard grunted and crossed her arms. "So you're Aria, the Pirate Queen of Omega."

The batarian grunted. "They're clear."

Aria turned around. "And you're Commander Shepard, the Butcher of Torfan." Kamina almost took a step away from her. She had an aura of power around her very akin to Shepard. "I can't say I approve of the way you abused my envoy," Aria continued.

"If you know I'm the Butcher of Torfan, you should know that I don't much care for batarians." She glared at the one who had been scanning them and he took several hasty steps back.

Aria laughed at that. "I can't say I blame you. But this is the Terminus. You're going to have to deal with them. And if they're mine, you'd do well to be polite. That batarian was an extension of my will...and on Omega, there is only one rule. Don't fuck with Aria."

Aria's pronouncement was met with silence. Then Kamina laughed. _That's a good rule!_ "I should adopt something similar," he mused aloud.

"Who the hell are you?" Aria snapped.

Kamina grinned. He thrust out one hand and then placed one finger from his other hand on the bridge of his glasses. "The hot-blooded spacefarer! Kamina-sama! Once the great leader of Team Dai-Gurren, now illustrious crewmember of the fierce _Gurren Senken!_ Kamina-sama! I am the man who will—" Kamina stopped and felt panic crawling in his throat. _What is my purpose now?!_ ''I am the man who will help Shepard find the Archangel!" he eventually yelled.

"Who?" Kamina deflated. Aria switched her gaze to Shepard. "Archangel? Is that who you are here for?" Shepard nodded. "Well, you're a little too late then. The three biggest merc gangs on this rock hit him and his people about ten hours ago. I heard he managed to hold out for a while and turn it into a running battle but I can't imagine he's still alive."

"Shit." Shepard ran a hand through her short red hair. "Who hit him? Why?"

"The why is simple. He's been making life hell for the mercenaries here. He was smart enough to leave me alone but he's been making such a nuisance of himself that I can't say I'm sad to see him go. As for who, that would be Blood Pack, Eclipse and Blue Suns, the three biggest mercenary outfits in the Terminus. Asinine, if you ask me. Only a matter of time."

"You don't know he's dead for certain, though, right? Where is he?"

Aria laughed. "Don't get your hopes up. He retreated into the plague-zone hoping that would get the mercs off him. Not a bad idea really but he underestimated how pissed the gangs were. My info isn't so good there so, no, I don't know if he is dead for sure. But considering he's facing both mercenaries hell-bent on murdering him and a plague..."

Shepard clenched her fists. "You don't know him like I do. He's faced worse. Where is this plague-zone?"

"Commander," Miranda piped up. "I don't know if going into a _plague-zone_ is the best idea."

"I'm not afraid of the plague!" Kamina put it.

"Because you're a moron," Miranda grumbled.

"Well, I can't dispute _that_ but actually humans do seem to be immune to the plague. You and vorcha. Go figure. I suppose its because you're so much like viruses yourselves," Aria said with a sneer.

If Shepard noticed the insult, she didn't care. "Great. Perfect. Where is the plague-zone?"

Aria shrugged and pulled up a map on her omnitool. She zoomed in on a section of Omega. "Here. And here is the last rumored sighting of Archangel. If he's still alive, just follow the sound of gunfire."

"Thanks, Aria." Shepard turned and started jogging away. Kamina followed her.

"If you find that bastard still breathing, get him the hell off Omega!" Aria shouted after them.

"Are you sure about this, Shepard?" Miranda whispered fiercely as they shoved their way clear of _Afterlife_. "Even if we are immune from the plague—and I'm not sure we should just blindly trust Aria on that—you're talking about taking on three huge mercenary armies."

"I kill mercs all the time."

"It's counter-productive!" Miranda hissed. "We're supposed to be figuring out how to stop the collectors, not start a war against the Terminus mercenaries."

Shepard stopped, grasped Miranda by the shoulder and pushed her against a wall, somehow lifting the woman off her feet with just one hand. "Listen, the turian they are trying to kill is my friend and one of the best soldiers I've had the honor of serving with. If I have to wipe the Blood Pack, Eclipse and Blue Suns off the face of the damn universe to save his life, you bet your ass I will."

Shepard let her go and walked on, Miranda glared after her, rubbing her shoulder. Kamina was fired up though. _That's exactly right!_ He felt gleeful. Kamina honestly couldn't remember running into a person who thought the way he did. Even Simon was more the yin to his yang. Shepard knew what was what.

The closest entrance to the part of Omega that was designated as the plague quarantine zone had an asari and a batarian arguing in front of it. "You can't keep me out," the asari was pleading. "I live here. I need to get back. My home is going to be looted."

"Sorry, honey," the batarian said, sounding anything but. "Nobody gets in or out." Shepard never slowed down. She drew her rifle and gripped the barrel. "Hey, stop, hu—" Shepard smashed the stock into the side of the batarian's head, throwing him out of the way. The batarian hit a wall and crumpled into a heap.

"Pardon me," Shepard said to the speechless asari.

"She certainly has a way about her," Miranda muttered.

They fanned out at Shepard's command once they were in quarantined area. Shepard took point with Kamina to her left and Miranda to her right. "Keep your eyes peeled," she said. "Not only are we dealing with mercs but I'm sure there are looters and all kinds of desperate types around." She peered through the scope of her rifle. "Speaking of which. Looks like the Blue Suns have a little barricade set up to protect this exit." She paused for a moment, studying. "All right, you two work your way a little closer. When you see my signal, charge in. I'll cover you."

"What will the signal be?" Miranda asked.

Shepard chuckled. "You'll see."

Kamina ducked down and made his way forward, using cover where he could find it. Ambushes and surprise attacks weren't exactly his favorite tactics but he'd learned the value of them while leading the Dai-Gurren Brigade. Once Kamina thought he was about as close to the mercenaries as he could get without being discovered, he glanced back at Shepard, wondering what she was doing. He looked at her just in time to see her thrust her omnitool forward and launch a huge fireball out of it. Kamina watched the fireball soar overhead in wonder. _So cool! How did she do that?_

The fireball smacked one of the mercenaries—a turian, Kamina thought—right in the chest. The turian lit up like a candle and started running around, screaming. It was a nice distraction and Kamina didn't waste it. He sprinted toward the mercs, his new powers adding speed to his legs. He still didn't know what they were or where they came from but using them was instinctual. _Is this what Simon feels like when he is operating the Lagann_?

Kamina landed in the middle of the mercenaries and blasted the closet merc with his shotgun. Then he shot out his hand and punched another in the face, at the same time swinging is gun around and shooting one-handed. The recoil jerked his arm hard but his biotics allowed him to keep the aim steady. Miranda was next to him a second later spraying a deluge of bullets from her machine gun and simply flinging another aside with a flare of her biotic power. A bullet zipped by Kamina so close that he could feel the air displacement and smacked a batarian in the forehead. Kamina blinked at looked around. Just like that, there were no more mercs on their feet.

With a sour twist of his stomach, Kamina noticed that one of dead mercs was a human. He'd thought they were all aliens. Kamina had fought plenty of beastmen in his life but never another human. He couldn't be sure but it looked like it might have been a shotgun blast that killed him. _Have I just slain my first man?_ Kamina shook his head. It didn't matter. Shepard's enemies were his, human or not.

Shepard certainly wasn't worried about it, not sparing any of the downed mercenaries a second glance. "Come on," she ordered. They fought there way deeper into the plague zone. Kamina soon learned about the different groups. Blue Suns wore blue and white armor and tended to be batarian, turian or human. Eclipse wore yellow and used mechs while most of their live soldiers were the lizard folk—salarians. The Blood Pack were the most disturbing. They were vorcha mostly—which Kamina hadn't encountered on the citadel. They looked especially freaky. The krogan were worse, though.

They were like walking nightmares, huge and bestial. Kamina had been excited about fighting one and they didn't disappoint. The first one he took on charged at him like a maniac. Kamina pumped a shotgun blast into his chest but it didn't even slow the mammoth alien. The krogan slammed into him and Kamina just barely got a biotic barrier up in time to keep from getting squashed. The impact had still thrown him several meters. Kamina then proceeded to fire his shotgun rapidly and with something close to panic when he was charged at again. It had been Shepard who brought the krogan down, however, with a volley of shot's to the back of his head.

"That thing..." Kamina panted. "Was pretty tough."

"Yes, he was. Krogan are nearly unkillable one-on-one," Miranda said meaningfully.

"Oh, they aren't so scary," Shepard said absently, peering through the scope of her rifle. "'Less they're a battlemaster like Wrex. A krogan with biotics, now that's something to be worried about." Miranda and Kamina shared a look, Miranda stunned and Kamina delighted by Shepard's cavalier attitude. "Ho! I think I just spotted him." She waved them on. "Let's get closer." Shepard ran ahead and Miranda and Kamina hurried after her. She scaled a building and looked through her scope again. "It is him!"

Kamina put a hand over his eyes and peered in the same direction as Shepard. On the roof of a building, he could just make out three figures firing at unseen enemies. A rumble under his feet made Kamina look up just as a gunship flew over his head. "Whoa!" he exclaimed.

"Shepard!" Miranda called. "That ship has Blue Suns colors!"

"I see it!" Shepard yelled. "Damn it!" She leapt off the ledge and hit the ground running. Kamina followed right after her, staring at the gunship. It circled around the building Shepard's friend was on and then released a volley of missiles. The rooftop exploded. "No!" Shepard screamed. Despite all they had already been through, this was the first time Kamina could remember Shepard actually sounding upset. They reached the building and Shepard commanded, "You two do something about that gunship. I'm going to get Garrus!"

Kamina halted. _Will she be alright on her own?_ Then he laughed. Of course she would. He glanced up at the gunship, which was a dot in the sky but circling back to make another pass. "Now what am I gonna do about that?"

"I'll take it," Miranda said.

Kamina jumped. "What?!"

"You're a stronger biotic than me," she said grudgingly. "Somehow. But you don't know piss-all about technology right?"

That put Kamina's guard up. "I can figure it out. What are you going to do anyway?"

"Well, considering we don't have any heavy weapons..." Miranda closed her eyes and took a deep breath and said. "You're going to throw me at the ship and I'm going to land on it, hack it and bring it down."

Kamina's eyes went big. "What?!"

"I can do it!" Miranda snapped.

Kamina grinned. "You got guts, woman." He threw back his head and laughed. "I like it! I like it!"

"Hurry, the ship is coming back." Kamina concentrated, gathering power and scooped Miranda up. He eyeballed the approaching gunship and then used all of his power to fling her at it.

"GO!" Miranda soared at the ship and then used her own biotics to adjust and slow her descent so that she landed on top of the gunship in a crouch. Kamina laughed again as the ship disappeared behind the building. "Impressive," he said aloud.

"Agreed," said a deep bass rumble. "Let's hope you didn't waste so much power that this isn't an interesting fight though." Kamina turned and his jaw dropped. A krogan was striding toward him. He was huge, half again the size of the one Kamina had fought earlier. His crest and armor were blood red. "My name is Garm and I run the Blood Pack on Omega. Know that it is an honor to die at my hand." With that Garm flung out a hand and a huge shockwave of biotic energy rushed at Kamina. He tried to counter it but the force was so strong it still picked him up and dashed him against a wall.

Kamina groaned. _A krogan with biotics, huh? Interesting!_ He got up and wiped the blood from the side of his mouth. "Is that the best you got?" he asked the giant krogan.

Garm laughed. "I like you, kid." He charged. Kamina brought up his shotgun and pumped three blasts into Garm but the krogan didn't even seem to notice. He barely managed to jump out of the way of the charge. Garm smashed head-first into the well, making a huge crater. When he pulled his head back, the krogan didn't seem fazed in the least. _This could be trouble._

Garm brought around his massive shotgun and triggered a blast. Kamina heard his shields fizzle and die. _That can't be good._ With a roar, the krogan ran at him. Kamina desperately fired away but even though he could see spurts of blood shooting out of the krogan's giant head, Garm didn't flinch or slow. He smashed into Kamina and the human tumbled away. _That guy hits like a runaway gunman,_ he thought weakly

Garm grasped his hair and lifted Kamina into the air. "Any last words, human?"

Kamina trembled. He didn't want to die. Again. Part of him want to beg and plead for this krogan to spare his life. Maybe he would. What was Kamina to him, after all? He hadn't even managed to injure the krogan. Kamina lifted his free hand. Garm trained one eye on it but didn't stop him. _It would be so easy to beg_. Kamina curled his hand into a fist and punched himself in the face. _You are Kamina! Never surrender!_ He glared at the big krogan who was watching him with confusion. "Who the hell do you think I am?" Kamina snarled. He activated the blade on his omnitool and rammed it into the krogan's mouth.

Defying all reason, Garm caught the blade with his teeth. He jerked his head to the left, twisting Kamina's arm around. The human screamed as his elbow was dislocated. The blade died and Garm chuckled. "That really wasn't such a bad last effort human. Now die."

"Always did have a hot head, Garm. Perhaps this will help cool your temper." A blast of ice hit Garm square in the face.

"What?"Garm tried to turn to look at whoever had assaulted him but his movement was slow, since his head was starting to freeze over. Despite the pain, Kamina was able to realize this would probably be the last, best chance he had at keeping the mighty krogan from murdering him. Kamina raised his shotgun with his good hand and placed the barrel directly on top of the ice covering the krogan's head-ridge. When he pulled the trigger, the recoil wrenched his shoulder around painfully. It also reduced the krogan's head to little more than frozen chunks of meat.

Kamina fell to the ground and sat down hard, cradling his dislocated elbow. The creature who saved him kneeled down in front of him. It was one of the lizard-people—a salarian. He had brown and white skin and a cross-shaped scar on one cheek. "Alive, eh? Good for you. Though that does mean you heard my attempt at a quip." The salarian inhaled deeply. "Regrettable."

 **Author's Notes** : Most of this chapter was dedicated to Shepard trying to make herself more independent. She never really felt like a real spectre to me. I love Mass Effect but I remember how excited I was when I first read about the concept of spectres during the lead up to Mass Effect and the games never really explored being one. Really hoping that Ryder in Andromeda has a bit more freedom. I don't need an overwhelming galaxy destroying threat but Bioware is very fond of them. Seriously what the hell even was Corypheus or whatever? Uh, anyway, from here I'm going to be drifting further from ME2. Another major Gurren Lagann character will show up in the next chapter. Probably the last one for a while.

Thank you to everybody that read this and special thanks to the few of you that reviewed it. I would appreciate more!

Kuragari


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes:** It's been a while. Sorry about that. Honestly, it's probably going to happen again. I get sidetracked by other projects pretty easily. I like this fanfic though, so I do plan on finishing it, even it takes me a while. One good thing is that Andromeda will be coming out soon, so I should have Mass Effect on my brain for a little while. Thank you for your patience.

 **Nikopol**

Shepard ducked down, avoiding the spray of bullets sent her why. _Hell, can't anything ever be easy?_ Miranda had absolutely insisted that they come to the planet Korlus to meet the krogan warlord named Okeer. Shepard had after all, according to her, completely hijacked their mission by going first to the Citadel and then Omega. Shepard didn't see it that way but she'd decided that meeting this warlord couldn't hurt. Wrex had been a warlord and absurdly powerful. If this krogan could help them take down the collectors, then Shepard was all for it.

But, of course, nothing was simple. _Were those Blue Suns soldiers? Again? I might have to stomp out the whole organization if they are going to be this much of a pain in the ass._ She glanced at the blue-haired young man crouched next to her. He'd been in rough shape after his own encounter with a krogan warlord but a combination of the salarian doctor's stellar treatment and his own impressive stamina had Kamina back on his feet almost as soon as he was down. "See if you can do something about that pillar they are hiding behind." Kamina smirked and nodded. She liked that about him.

Green energy manifested itself around him and he shot up, raising both of his hands. The fallen pillar the Blue Suns had been hiding behind flew up into the air and Kamina tossed it aside as if it were a twig in his path. _He is getting pretty good_. As was his wont, Kamina charged forward with a shout, brandishing his shotgun. Shepard calmly braced her Viper on the piece of rubble she was crouching behind. There were seven Blue Suns soldiers. She put a bullet through the head of three of them. With the forth, she deliberately tracked to the side and pumped a round into his shoulder. She had a few questions about just what the Blue Suns were doing on this planet.

Kamina stumbled to a halt and looked around. "Huh?" he gasped.

Shepard laughed and glanced behind her, where the turian who had disposed of the other three soldiers was getting to his feet. "Nice shooting, Garrus. I see you haven't lost your touch."

"That was too easy, Shepard," Garrus drawled. She couldn't really read turian facial expressions but the tone of his voice told her that he was pleased.

Shepard was happy, too. She felt much better having Garrus around to watch her back. When she'd first found him on top of a building, she'd been all but certain he was dead. How the turian had survived the barrage of missiles, she would never know. Thanks, again, to the salarian doctor Moridin, he'd made almost a full recovery. The scarring on the left side of his face would remain unless he got it fixed by a turian surgeon. Garrus didn't seem worried about it, though, and Shepard thought it actually kind of suited him. "Come on," she said, "Let's see what this soldier has to tell us."

They joined Kamina among the bodies of the Blue Suns. Shepard reached down with one hand and hauled the wounded mercenary to his feet. He was a bald man who looked to be in his early thirties. _Good, a veteran should be more reasonable than some young hot head._ "Son of a bitch!" he cursed, clutching his injured shoulder with one hand. "Who the hell are you people?" He grunted. "I didn't think you were the berserkers. None of them have biotics."

"Berserkers?" Shepard repeated. "What are you talking about?"

"Why should I tell you anything?" the soldier asked petulantly.

"Well, if you cooperate, I've got a lovely dose of medigel for you. If not…" Shepard used her free hand to gesture at Garrus. "My turian friend there can show you some interrogation techniques he learned while in the military." Right on cue, Garrus scratched the scars on the side of his face.

The soldier paled. "The-the crazy krogan Jedore hired. He's supposed to be making an army of krogan but they're crazy. Attack anything that moves. We use them for live ammo training."

"Okeer is making krogan clones?" Shepard glanced at Garrus. They'd run into that before and it hadn't been pretty. She turned back the soldier. "And he doesn't mind you murdering them?"

"How the hell should I know? I just carry out my orders and bank my credits."

 _Fat lot of help this guy was. Still, at least I know that Okeer is here and I'll be facing krogan berserkers in addition to the Suns._ Shepard applied enough medigel to the wound in the mercenary's shoulder to close it up. Then she pulled his face in close. "Listen up, if you have any brains at all, you'll get gone from this facility right now. I'm going to reduce this little project to rubble today."

"You've certainly got a lot of confidence, woman," the merc snarled.

Shepard tossed him aside so that he landed hard on his backside. "Of course. I am a Council Spectre. Shepard. You may have heard of me." The merc's eyes widened. "My guess is that Jedore will be a corpse before the day is out, so tell your next commander that the Blue Suns have pissed me off twice already. I wouldn't advise a third time." Shepard fought to keep her face stern. _That was a pretty good speech._

Garrus laid a hand on her shoulder and said, softly enough so the merc wouldn't overhear, "I don't mean to ruin your display but Kamina is gone." As if on cue, gunshots started sounding in the distance.

Shepard closed her eyes. _That man doesn't have an off switch._ "C'mon." She and Garrus sprinted through toward the gunfire and found Kamina taking on about a dozen Blue Suns soldiers. He was bouncing around to avoid the fire from the mercenaries, hardly more than a green blur. It was working but... _He is going to exhaust himself._ Shepard pulled up and raised her rifle. Kamina certainly was making himself a good distraction, at least. Garrus followed her example and they made short work of the squadron.

Kamina, seeing that the mercs were all dead, skidded to a halt in front of them. He braced his hand on his knees, breathing heavily, and then looked up at them with a scowled back at him. "What are doing running ahead like that? We're supposed to be a team here."

"Sorry, Sukeban. Just got a little bored." Kamina's smile was anything but apologetic yet Shepard found herself wanting to forgive him anyway. She didn't know what 'Sukeban' meant and he was being coy about it. She found she didn't mind that much, however.

"Don't go all out just yet," she said. "We don't know what we're going to find here so it would bad to exhaust yourself."

Kamina crossed his arms and laughed loudly. "Who the hell do you think I am? Kamina-sama is not someone who gets exhausted." He was wearing those ridiculous glasses he'd gotten on the citadel and they seemed to flash at the declaration. Garrus chuckled at the speech. _Such a relief to have him along instead for Miranda. Though, considering what might be between us and Okeer, maybe I shouldn't have left her on the Gurren Sen-er, Normandy._

"Fine, fine, but try and slow up for us who do have mortal limits," Shepard said.

"Don't underestimate yourself, Sukeban." Shepard gave him a friendly scowl and waved him on. With Kamina taking point and Garrus watching the back, Shepard took a moment to glance at the codex entry on Korlus. _Probably should have done that on the way in._ Reading through it, she muttered, "Garbage scow with a climate, huh?" She couldn't argue with that description. The Blue Suns seemed to be based in some kind of old, defunct factory district. Everywhere she looked, there was only rusted out hunks of metal and broken and crumbling concrete structures. _Nice place. I can see why they use it for live ammo practice._

A volley of shots broke her thoughts and sent her scrambling for cover. The resulting battle played out much like the previous one had. Kamina rushed among them, upsetting their formation and causing chaos. She and Garrus cleaned up the mess with precision sniper fire. It was a tactic she learned while in the Alliance but she, Kamina and Garrus executed it to a degree her instructors could have only dreamed at. They worked their way through several skirmishes this way. Whenever, they injured somebody instead of killing them outright, Shepard shook them down for directions toward Okeer. Slowly but surely, they made their way to the target.

Which is how they found themselves in what all the Blue Suns mercs referred to as the 'lab.' It didn't look much like a lab to Shepard. It seemed to be just another old, wrecked factory. But the last few mercs had said that Okeer was definitely in there. There was no obvious entrance but Shepard noticed a huge slab of metal leaning up against one wall. She pulled it away enough to ascertain that it was indeed covering up a hole. _I wonder what it is keeping in?_ she thought with a certain amount of sarcasm. There could be only one thing in the lab. The krogan berserkers all the mercs were so worried about. _Oh, well. I've dealt with worse._ "Kamina, move this thing."

The blue-haired young man complied, lifting the slab aside with a grunt. Shepard peered inside and wrinkled her nose. There was smoke in the air and it stunk. _This is supposed to be a lab?_ She cradled her gun and jerked her head. "Let's go and look sharp. I don't what we're going to find in there but expect a horde of psychopathic krogan."

"You do have the loveliest thoughts, Shepard," Garrus grumbled.

"Hope for the best and prepare for the worst," Shepard said. "Old bit of human wisdom."

"We turians have a similar saying, only without the hope part."

Kamina slapped him on the shoulder. "Don't be ridiculous, birdman! Don't prepare for the worst, prepare for the best!" The biotic thrust his hand into the sky. "And should the worst occur, simply smash through it. Never accept it. Scream out, 'I am Garrus-sama' and blast your way through the worst and make it the best."

Shepard bit her lip to keep from laughing. _Giving that kind advice to an eternal pessimist..._ Garrus removed Kamina's hand from his shoulder and said, "I will...keep that in mind, human."

If Kamina noticed the tone of his voice, he gave to hint of it. Instead he flashed Garrus a thumbs up. "Great!" Then he swaggered into the lab. "Let's go!" Shepard followed, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

Her mirth didn't last very long. The first corner they walked around ran them smack into a very large and very angry krogan. It roared and rushed straight at them. "Shit!" Shepard cursed. "Stun it, Kamina!" To her shock and horror, Kamina froze, instead. His face was tight with fear. _Damn it. It's the first krogan he's run into since Garm. I should have known better but I honestly didn't think he was capable of mental trauma._

Years of battle meant that Shepard could switch from plan A to plan B without a moment's hesitation. She thrust her omnitool out and fired a ball of fire at the charging krogan. It hit him full in the face, both burning him and blinding him. The krogan lost track of where it was running and smashed into the wall beside her. Shepard and Garrus riddled it with bullets. As was usually the case with krogan, it took entirely too many shots to finally bring it down.

When the krogan was dead, Shepard stepped up to Kamina. "Are you alright?" she asked, laying a hand on his arm. The young human was breathing heavily.

"Yeah...yeah...I…" Kamina took off his glasses, screwed his eyes shut and then howled. He spun away from her and smashed his forehead into the wall beside them. Shepard was too stunned to stop him as he did it again and again. Finally, Kamina stopped. He left his head against the wall for a moment while he caught his breath. Then he turned to her and smiled. There was blood trickling down his forehead but his red eyes were alive again. "There. I won't freeze again, Sukeban. I won't."

"Jesus, Kamina." Shepard stepped up to him and slathered some medigel on his forehead. "It happens to the best of us."

"It's not supposed to happen to me." Kamina slapped his cheeks with both hands. "I am ready this time, Shepard."

He was indeed. The next krogan berserker they met, Kamina launched himself forward and, his fist charged with green biotic energy, punched it right in the face. Astonishingly, the krogan stumbled back a step. She and Garrus lit it up. Kamina added a couple blasts from his Scimitar for punctuation. "He...just punched a krogan in the face…" Garrus said after they finished. Shepard nodded casually, even though she was as surprised as the turian. She'd never seen anything hit a krogan like that but another krogan. "Where did you find that kid?"

Shepard shrugged. "Even he seems pretty vague on where he came from but he's fun right?' Shepard grinned at her friend.

Garrus stared at her for a moment and then chuckled. "I missed you, Shepard."

They worked their way through the lab, coming across a half dozen more krogan. Kamina kept his word and never hesitated once. In fact, he recklessly charged at any berserker the moment they came across one. She and Garrus were always there to clean up after him and keep him from getting in too much trouble though. They made their way to the upper level of the factory husk and encountered yet more Blue Suns. Shepard sighed. She was starting to feel impatient. They didn't slow down her for long, at least.

Shepard hammered the door to the next room open and swept the room with her gun while Kamina darted inside. She was surprised when there was just a single asari inside. She was even more shocked to see that it was an asari she knew. "Rana."

The asari got to her feet. "Shepard, you remembered me. Don't worry, I shut off the security cameras when I saw that it was you blowing through the place."

Shepard lowered her gun. "Rana. What the hell are you doing here? I thought that you would have learned your lesson about cloning krogan after you had to outrun the nuclear explosion of your last place of work."

"Oh, I did Shepard. Okeer is nothing like Saren. Jedore might want a krogan army but I don't think she'll get one from Okeer. He is just using her resources for his own ends. He wants to help his people, Shepard...even if his methods are a bit...extreme."

 _Well, krogan and moderation don't exactly go together._ "What is Okeer trying to do?"

"I'm not completely sure. It has something to do with krogan genetics but he's not trying to cure the genophage."

Shepard closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "So you don't know what he is trying to do but you are helping him create innumerable clones to do it. Clones that are getting slaughtered the moment that Okeer deems them worthless." Rana gave a soft, nervous laugh. Shepard's hand trembled on her gun but she wasn't the type to execute an unarmed person. "Get out of here, Rana."

"O-of course, Shepard. When you're around, things have a tendency to blow up. I think I'll put some distance between me and you before that happens." Rana slid past her and sprinted from the room.

Garrus watched her go. "I'm all for second chances, Shepard. I'm not sure about third ones."

"She won't get one," Shepard assured him. Bringing up her omnitool, she quickly put out a warrant for Rana's arrest under her Spectre authority. The asari would be picked up on any Citadel world that she landed on. _Perhaps a few dozen years in jail will convince her to stop selling her services to krogan cloners._

That done, Shepard moved to the next door. She swept in, Garrus and Kamina flanking her. The only one waiting for her was a large krogan. When he continued working at his terminal rather than charging at her, she lowered her gun. "Okeer, I presume?"

"Shepard," he growled. "I was wondering how long you were going to play with those mercs."

 _Play?_ "You know who I am?"

The krogan turned from his terminal and faced her. "Of course. Any krogan should know the woman who blew up Virmire and a potential cure for the genophage."

 _Oh, great._ "I did what I had to do. I wasn't about to let Saren have an army of krogan."

Okeer spread out his hands. "Oh, but I approve. Saren's pale horde were not true krogan. Numbers alone are nothing. The mistake of an outsider." Shepard collapsed her gun and slid it onto her back, since it seemed like Okeer was going to be reasonable. If a bit long-winded. "Same with these mercenaries." Okeer turned away and ambled a window. "I gave Jedore my rejects. They are fine krogan. Strong. She simply lacks the ability to lead and grows impatient. It's time for you to take me out of here."

Shepard crossed her arms. "Rana told me you aren't trying to cure the genophage." Garrus put away his own weapons and flanked her. Kamina wandered to the tank that held a silver krogan and peered inside it.

"The genophage itself is nothing," Okeer spat. "It just means that every krogan infant that survives it is coddled and treated as precious. It makes us weak. My work will make us strong again. It will renew the krogan." Okeer lifted his hands into the air. "This one genetically perfect krogan will be the example of what all krogan should be. He will be the first of a new-" Okeer's speech was cut off by a loud hiss. Okeer, Shepard and Garrus all swiveled their heads toward the tank.

Kamina put his hands behind his head and smiled apologetically. "I think I hit something that I wasn't supposed to."

Okeer rushed over and started typing furiously on his terminal. "No! I wasn't ready for this yet." The tank continued to open. Okeer growled at rushed at Kamina, catching them all by surprise. He smashed Kamina into a wall, holding him a half meter above the ground. "What did you do, you little bastard?"

Shepard had her pistol out in a flash. "Drop him, Okeer!"

"This pyjack might have just cost me my prototype!" Okeer snarled.

 _Shit. Even if we open up on him, he might me able to kill Kamina before he falls._ "You can start again, Okeer." The pod hissed again and cracked open. Water began to drain out of it.

"No, it took as much trial as data to get this far." The tank opened all the way and the silver krogan fell forward, coughing up water. He seemed to be alive at least. Okeer looked at him and whispered, "My legacy…" he seemed almost tender.

Kamina took his chance. Biotic energy swirled around him and he slammed his head into Okeer's. The krogan grunted and stumbled backward. He let Kamina go and the man slid down the wall. Shepard hesitated before firing on the old warlord. They had come to enlist his help against the collectors after all. "Okeer, your legacy seems to be okay so let's just-"

Shepard was cut off as the big silver krogan slammed into Okeer. Roaring, the two of them wrestled. Shepard honestly didn't know enough about krogan to know if this was some kind of normal display or if they were trying to kill each other. She got her answer when the sliver krogan threw Okeer through a window. "Okeer!" she shouted, running forward. The warlord smashed hard into the level below. There was a woman down there, with a mech and a few other Blue Suns mercs. Based on her armor, Shepard was guessing that she must be Jedore.

Okeer stumbled to his feet. He shouted something at Jedore and the woman yelled back at him. They both seemed furious but Shepard couldn't hear what they were saying. She glanced to her left but the silver krogan had his blue eyes fixed on the scene below. Shepard assumed that Garrus had him in his sights, should he try anything.

The conversation between Okeer and Jedore evidently broke down because the Blue Suns opened up on him. Okeer, proving he was still a warlord to be reckoned with, summoned up a biotic shield that absorbed the barrage. He turned the shield into a wave that flung back most of the mercs. Unfortunately for him, it did not move Jedore or her mech. The mech brought its right arm around and opened fire with twin machine guns. Okeer managed bring up another biotic shield in time but Shepard could tell he was weakening. The shield collapsed when Jedore fired a rocket into it. The mech lifted its left arm and fired its own rocket. It hit Okeer in the head and detonated.

Shepard had seen her fair share of carnage but even she winced at that one. She glanced over to see how the krogan prototype was reacting. He didn't seem the least bit perturbed but, then, krogan didn't seem to have a wide range of facial expressions. "Weak," the silver krogan growled. Before Shepard knew what was happening, the krogan leapt through the window. He smashed directly into the mech and tore its head off as they fell to the ground. The mech exploded a second later but the krogan had already rolled away from it. Jedore took a shot but the krogan was already up and moving. He charged straight at the merc leader and headbutted her in the chest. The woman flew back and smashed into a wall. The krogan picked up the rocket launcher that she'd dropped. Almost contemptuously, he fired a rocket and her feebly stirring form.

Shepard watched all of this in awe. That thing was as pure of a krogan as there was alright. _If I could convince it to join us..._ The problem was that didn't seem very feasible at the moment. The krogan had only been alive for a few moments and it had already attacked its creator and killed a human. "What should we do, Shepard?" Garrus asked. The silver krogan had tossed the launcher aside and was heading back in their direction. "We could probably get out of here before he comes back but I'm not sure about releasing him on the galaxy."

"Leave?!" Kamina protested. "No way. I want to meet him. That was awesome!"

Shepard smiled. "I actually want to wait as well. Keep on standby, though, Garrus. Who knows what it will do." He gave Kamina a mock-severe look. "That goes for you, too, Kamina. Be ready for anything."

Kamina rolled his shoulders with his customary smirk. "I am always ready for a scrap, Sukeban."

The big, silver krogan entered the room. To Shepard's relief, he didn't instantly attack. His blue eyes swept across them. "Turian. Two humans. I am Grunt. Which of you would like to be the first to die?"

"Die?" Shepard said. "What reason do you have to fight us?"

"Reason?" The krogan seemed to consider it for a moment. "I have no reason. Okeer tried to impart his reason on me but it didn't work. I feel nothing for his hatreds. Not even you arouse me, turian. I will fight, though, because I am pure krogan. Without reason, one fight is as good as another. So I will fight you."

"Oy!" Kamina shouted. "What kind of talk is that? If that other krogan didn't give you a reason to fight, then find your own reason."

The krogan examined him. "You are the one who headbutted Okeer. None of the information fed to me about humans suggests that you were capable of that. You are worthy enough for my next fight."

Kamina smirked and crossed his arms. "Alright, young Grunt. If you really want to fight, I will take you on. But if I win…" Kamina pointed at him. "You submit to me." Shepard raised an eyebrow. She had to admit that he looked pretty heroic with that pose, with that silver armor and red cloak. _I hope he doesn't get himself killed._

"I submit to you…?" Grunt nodded. "Alright, human. If you win, I will become part of your krantt."

"I don't know what that is but if you want to fight, let's do it." Kamina put up his fists and punched the air a few times. "I am ready." Shepard thought she gaining a handle on Kamina but she couldn't tell if there was any nervousness at all under the arrogance boiling off of him. _He's crazy, either way._

"That kid is crazy," Garrus said, echoing her thoughts.

"Oh?" Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you mention something about getting into a one-on-one fight with Garm?"

"I kept my distance, Shepard." Shepard noticed that Garrus had put away his rifle and was now cradling his assault rifle. She approved.

"If it looks like the krogan is about to kill Kamina," she whispered. "Blow him away." The turnian nodded though she sensed that he was still skeptical about not opening up on him now. _I want to see what Kamina has planned. He seems so confident._

The blue-haired biotic lifted his hand and waved Grunt forward. The silver krogan bull-rushed him. Shepard was astonished at how fast he could move after being at a dead stop. Krogan were always tough but many of them were lumbering as well. Not this one. What had Okeer said? This krogan would renew the species. Shepard shivered at the thought of facing hordes of this monster.

Though the krogan came at him like a shot from a cannon, Kamina managed to spin out of the way. He hammered the krogan in the side of the head as he passed by. Though Kamina's hand was surrounded by biotic energy, the krogan barely seemed to feel it. Kamina shook his hand and whistled. Grunt smashed into his tank but bounced off it and came right back around at Kamina. This time, however, the krogan stopped just short of Kamina. The human froze at the unexpected pause and when Grunt launched back into motion, he tackled Kamina before the human could dodge. _Instantly adjusting battle tactics! Hard to believe he just woke up._

Garrus lifted his rifle but Shepard put a hand on it. She wasn't quite ready to give up yet. Kamina rewarded her belief. Just before Grunt smashed them into a wall, likely turning Kamina into a red spat, the bioitc brought both hands down on Grunt's head. His hands were bright with the green energy. The blow was so fierce that it caused Grunt to lose his balance. They crashed to the ground together. Kamina somehow managed to scramble out of the krogan's grasp during the fall. He rolled to his feet. Shepard wondered if Kamina's hands were okay after that hit. He seemed to be holding them at a strange angle. _As if it is too painful to fully close or open them._

"Shit," she muttered. "Garrus." The turian leveled his rifle at the krogan, who was staggering to his feet. There was a slightly glazed look in his huge blue eyes. Before she could decide whether to try and appeal to the krogan or order Garrus to open fire on it, Kamina lifted one of his hands. His gesture was for her to wait. Shepard clenched her fists. _He still wants to fight?_ Kamina seemed utterly serious now. Even though she thought she might be making an irresponsible decision, she laid a hand on Garrus' gun again. "Not yet, Garrus." The turian lowered his gun but he was still tense.

Grunt shook his head, still dazed. So this time, Kamina took the initiative. He charged straight at the big krogan. Grunt set himself to receive the charge but at the last minute, Kamina dropped into a slide. He managed to slip between the krogan's legs and pop up behind him. Kamina wrapped his arms around Grunt's waist. Biotic energy flared up around his body and he grit his teeth. Defying all logic, Kamina actually managed to lift the krogan up. _Impossible!_ Yet Kamina wasn't done yet. With a scream and a flare of energy that made Shepard's red hair fly back, Kamina fell backward and threw Grunt at the same time. The krogan hit the far wall next to his tank and slid down it. He came to rest with his head on the floor and his legs in the air.

Kamina fell onto his back, breathing heavily. Shepard walked over and squatted in front of the dazed krogan. "Hey there, Grunt, is it?" The krogan groaned. "Listen, I'd say you just lost to my friend. You said you'd submit to him but the fact is that Kamina reports to me," Shepard said, pointing a thumb at herself.

"O-oy!" Kamina protested.

"Quiet," Shepard said without any real heat. "So you have two options, Grunt. We can leave you here to continue fighting pointless battles on this slag heap until you die...or you could come with us. I promise that you will have your fill of battle at my side. My enemies threaten galaxies so I only accept the best on my team." She smiled wolfishly at Grunt. "So, what do you say, pure krogan? What to help be kick the Reapers' teeth in?"

 **Part 2**

"I can't believe you convinced that krogan to join us," Garrus said.

Shepard passed him a tumbler of some dark blue turian alcohol and sat down across from him. They were in the lounge area of the _Normandy_ , which Shepard had to admit was a serious upgrade from the previous version of the ship."Why not?" she asked before taking a sip of her own amber whiskey. "I can be very persuasive. I convinced you to leave your job to come on a crazy-ass chase across the galaxy."

Garrus chuckled. "You didn't have to work that hard, Shepard. I really wanted to get that son of a bitch. Saren was a blight on turian honor."

Shepard smiled. "Another point in my favor. You remember how I talked him into shooting himself? Tell me you've seen another person do that?"

"Toche, Shepard." Garrus held out his glass and Shepard clinked her against it. "People do seem to listen when you talk, even when it seems they are beyond reason."

Shepard took another sip of her whiskey, relishing the warmth. "On a more serious note, thank you, Garrus. You're face has barely healed and I'm already throwing you against krogan berserkers."

Garrus' mandibles twitched. "Well, it's not like I hang around you because I like to take it easy." He took a drink. "To be honest, though, Shepard, I'm a little surprised that you are working with Ouroboros. They were up to some nasty stuff."

Shepard leaned back and rested her arm over her eyes. "I know but I don't see how I have a choice. At least they are doing something." Garrus grunted. "Two years, Garrus. Two years. Who knows how far the Reapers have come in that time? And in my absence, everybody just decided to play pretend that it wasn't happening. Even the Council. I thought having Anderson on it would do something..."

Garrus sighed. "The more things change, the more they stay the same. I found that out first hand when I went back to the Citadel."

"It can't be that way, Garrus," Shepard whispered. " It can't. Because if it is, and everything stays the same, we are all going to die. Just like every civilization before us did. Over and over again."

 **Part 3**

Kamina pressed his nose to the window as the _Gurren Senken_ circled around the space station. _It kind of looks like a spine._ He only vaguely knew what they were planning on doing here. Something about freeing one of the prisoners to join their team. Kamina didn't think that finding anymore people was really that necessary. Between him, Shepard, Grunt and Garrus, he was fairly confident they could beat the hell out of anyone or anything. When he suggested to Shepard that they just go right after the collectors or the Reapers or whatever else, she had grinned at him. But she still listened to Miranda and ordered the _Senken_ to make for the prison ship.

So while Kamina didn't exactly know why they were here, he was damn sure going to follow her onto the prison ship. He didn't like being cooped up on the ship for long periods of time. It reminded him too much of life in the village. And when he thought about his village, he thought about other things he would rather not. Like Simon. And Yoko.

Once the _Senken_ was connected to the prison ship, Kamina followed Shepard and Miranda across the connecting bridge. Miranda had insisted that she and Shepard would be enough. It was just supposed to be an exchange after all. To Kamina's relief, Shepard had countered that a little backup never hurt. Kamina's eyes drifted down to Miranda's backside as they walked. She was wearing a skintight uniform again, this one all black. He wondered if she ever wore anything that wasn't like a second skin. _I kind of hope not…_

They were greeted at the entryway of the ship by a bunch of soldiers wearing blue and white armor that Kamina recognized. He heard Shepard mutter, "Blue Suns again? What did half the universe join them while I was out?"

"Greetings, Spectre Shepard, and welcome to Purgatory Station," one of the Blue Suns soldiers said. He was wearing a full helmet so Kamina couldn't be sure, but he thought it was probably a turian like Garrus. "Please relinquish your weapons to us and we will conduct you inside to retrieve your package."

Shepard laughed lightly and scratched her cheek with one finger. "I don't think so. You have no right to ask a Council Spectre to disarm." Kamina half-expected this to set Miranda off but the raven-haired woman put a hand on her hip and glared at the turian soldier. Kamina started to charge a bit of biotic energy. Shepard sure did have an ability to find a fight. Kamina liked that about her.

A big turian-and Kamina was sure it was one, since his brown head had no helmet-strode up behind the soldier who had asked them to disarm. "It is just standard procedure, Shepard," he said.

"There is no standard procedure when it comes to Spectres," Shepard said. Her tone wasn't nasty or challenging, just matter-of-fact.

The turian stared at her for a long moment but Shepard stared right back. "Fine," he said. "Our station is more than secure enough to handle three armed visitors." Shepard didn't react but Kamina noticed Miranda's shoulders sag a touch in relief.

The turian introduced himself as the Warden of the station and led them inside. He and Shepard conversed about what exactly the station was but Kamina tuned them out. He wasn't particularly interested. Kamina glanced around the stark station as they walked, a feeling of disquiet coming over him. He couldn't place his finger on it but something about the place was bothering him.

The warden left them, instructing them to head further into the station. The first person they came across was a turian guard who was dispassionately watching a colleague relentless beat a prisoner in a small cell. Kamina's temper flared. _Beating somebody who can't fight back..._ His lip curled into a snarl. Shepard stepped up next to the guard and asked, "Is that really necessary?"

The turian glanced at her. "Move along, woman. This is none of your business."

Before Shepard could respond, Kamina did. He smashed his fist into the side the guard's head. The turian crashed to the ground and Kamina shook his hand with a hiss. He hadn't used his biotics to hit the man, just his own flesh and blood fist. The other guard-the one who was beating the prisoner-didn't even notice his colleague go down. This time Kamina did allow biotic energy to fill his body. He reached out, snatched the guard and flung him up into the ceiling. The guard fell hard back the ground and lay still. The prisoner, glanced from the guard to Kamina, shock on his face.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?!" Miranda exploded.

Kamina shrugged and grinned, though he was still angry on the inside. "Stopping a couple of bullies," he said.

Her face softened, which surprised Kamina so much that his grin slipped away. "I understand the impulse, Kamina, but this is their facility. They have their way of doing things. We don't want to risk upsetting them." Kamina frowned. He'd heard that kind of logic before and it never sat right with him. _If something is wrong, it's wrong._ Miranda glanced between Kamina and Shepard, which alerted Kamina that Shepard wore a glower very similar to his own. The raven-haired woman sighed and put her hands on her hips. "You two never want to take the path of least resistance, do you?"

"Sounds boring," Shepard said airily. Kamina smirked.

Miranda closed her eyes. "Fine. Fine. Bloody hell, with what we're paying them, I'm sure they'll overlook a minor scuffle." She lifted up a finger. "But! You two need to be on your best behavior from here. Until we get what we came for at least."

Shepard seemed scandalized. "I am always on my best behavior!" Miranda sighed again and Kamina snickered. "Alright, time's wasting." Shepard turned and continued through the prison ship at a brisk pace.

A technician pointed them onward, to a large metal door at the back of one room. "Outprocessing is just through there," he murmured. When they got to the large door, it slid open, revealing a small room behind. Kamina peered inside, confused for a moment at the fact that it didn't seem to go anywhere."

Then the Warden's voice filled the air. "Sorry, Shepard. You're worth more as a prisoner than a customer. Be so kind as to lay down your arms and advance into the cell and nobody dies."

"Oh, you asshole," Shepard growled. She sounded more annoyed than truly angry or frightened. "Why does everyone love double-crossing me so much?" she muttered. "How many arrogant pricks do I have to kill before I get a little respect?"

Miranda hammered her fist into the wall. "I'm sorry, Shepard. This is my fault. I should have taken care of the retrieval myself. Of course you're too valuable for Kuril to let go. Damn hypocrite!"

"We can cast blame later," Shepard said, lifting up her rifle and triggering a shot. Kamina whirled around in time to see a mech's head exploded. "Right now, let's get Jack and get the hell out here."

"Right," Miranda said, drawing her machine gun.

Kamina grinned. _Just when I thought things were getting boring._ He let biotic energy suffuse him and then shot forward. He was getting used to moving much faster than he would have believed possible. _Simon could do incredible things with his Lagaan. I wonder if he could do them outside of it as well?_ Kamina's elbow crashed into the head of one mech and it practically disintegrated. Then Kamina tugged free his shotgun and blasted one of the dog-like mechs pointblank. It exploded into a shower of flaming pieces. Fire from Shepard and Miranda took care of the few remaining mechs.

There were more soldiers waiting for them in the hallway outside but they were dispatched easily. The next room contained only a single worker typing furiously on a keyboard. When he saw the three of them, he got up and tried to run. Miranda cut him down with a burst from her gun. A shiver ran down Kamina's spine at her ruthlessness. "This is the control room, Shepard," she said. "We should be able to release Jack from here." Shepard nodded and they both walked to the control station.

"I think this one will do it," Shepard said.

"You'll release every prisoner on the ship," Miranda countered.

"Good. It will give the Blue Suns something to think about besides us."

"That's a very...pragmatic decision, Shepard. I didn't expect it."

Shepard didn't seem to care much about Miranda's reaction. "Get ready," she said. "I'm doing it." She typed rapidly and in the room in front of and below them, a large silver cylinder rotated up out of the ground. Inexplicably, Kamina's gut turned into a ball of ice at the sight. _What is in there?_ Kamina couldn't remember ever meeting a guy called Jack. He put his hand on the glass and nervously watched as the cylinder opened.

 _No!_ Paralysis gripped him, to the point he even forgot to breathe. At the same time, his heart started pounding so hard that the sound of it filled his head. Kamina recognized the man in the cylinder right away. _No, not the man. The beastman._ His shaggy blond hair was longer but the huge, paw-like hands, yellow cat eyes and sharp teeth were all exactly as Kamina remembered them. _Viral!_

"That's Jack?" Shepard said. "What the hell is he?"

"This is the first time I've seen him," Miranda said. She sounded a little shaken. "I'm not sure who he is, though I know he has some connection to Ouroboros and the Illusive Man."

Viral flexed his arm and ripped it free of the shackle that bound it. Then he reached up and pulled the metal collar from his neck as easily as if it were paper. The beastman fell forward and landed awkwardly on the ground. He seemed skinnier that Kamina remembered and his body was covered in scars. Viral looked up and snarled. Then he charged forward, underneath and out of Kamina's line of sight.

The moment he could no longer see Viral, Kamina's paralysis snapped. He hammered the glass in front of him so hard that it cracked. "Viral!" He spun around and sprinted toward the door that led down, smashing his fist into the door release until it started to slide open. He was vaguely aware of Shepard and Miranda trying to talk to him but Kamina couldn't hear anything over the blood pounding in his head. _Viral, Viral, Viral, Viral!_ As soon as the door was open enough, Kamina was through it. He charged into the room but Viral was already gone. Several broken and smoking mechs attested that beastman was still as dangerous as ever.

Kamina began to run out of the room and after Viral but he only took two steps before he smashed into an invisible wall. He rebounded off it and sat down hard. "Who-?" he snarled looking back over his shoulder. Miranda was behind him, glowing green energy surrounding her. Shepard was beside her, as angry as Kamina could remember seeing her.

"What do you think you are doing?" Shepard asked, marching toward him.

Kamina popped to his feet. "That man...beastman...I know him. His name is Viral." He bounced anxiously, wanting to be after him once more.

Shepard crossed her arms. "I'm guessing, based on your reaction, that he is not a friend."

Kamina shook his head adamantly. "No way. That bastard…" _How do I explain it? He was there when I...died._ If that is what had actually happened. Kamina shook his head. He didn't like to think about it.

Shepard put a hand on his shoulder. "Alright. I understand. But I need you to understand that this Jack...Viral might have information that I need. Maybe he knows something about what happened to you, too. Let's hunt him down but stay smart about it, alright?" Shepard stared at him steadily with her intensely blue eyes. There was something about her that made it always seem like agreeing with her was just common sense. Kamina took a breath and wiped his hand over his eyes. Then he nodded. "Good," Shepard said. "Then let's get a move on."

They swept into the next room and into chaos. There were running gunfights between the freed prisoners and their Blue Suns jailors. The threesome avoided fights where they could, only defending themselves from attacks by both the criminals and the mercenaries. Kamina got more and more anxious the longer they went without locating Viral. He knew the beastman was both driven and resourceful. Now that Shepard had put the idea in his head, Kamina was sure that Viral would know something about what had happened to him. _Leeron was always an odd person but there is no way Viral has forgotten me._

Eventually, they reached the location of the turian warden. He and Shepard got into an argument, with the turian pontificating and justifying himself. Kamina barely listened. He wanted to be after Viral again. _Just shut up and start the fight already!_ When they finally got down to it, the battle was over almost as soon as it began. Miranda took down the shields Kuril had set up, Shepard pinned him in place with a rain of bullets and Kamina pulverized him with a biotic wave. "Let's go already!" Kamina said, bouncing from foot to foot while Shepard nudged the twitching turian with her boot.

They found Viral trying to forced open the airlock between the prison ship and the _Gurren Senken_. When the beastman saw him, Kamina was gratified to see shocked recognition in his yellow eyes. "You!" he hissed, freezing the same as Kamina had when he'd first laid eyes on Viral. "Impossible!"

"Viral!" Kamina ground out. He ran forward and punched the beastman in the face. Viral flew back and landed hard on his backside. Even still, it was shock on his face, rather than pain or anger, when he stared up at Kamina. The punch had split his lip but Kamina watched as the cut sealed itself closed almost immediately. _How can that be? I guess I'll just have to hit him again._ Before he could move, Shepard laid a hand on his arm. He glanced at her. There was no recrimination in her eyes but he knew that she wouldn't be so forgiving if he continued to hit Viral. And, honestly, Kamina didn't feel that good about hitting him, since the beastman wasn't fighting back.

Shepard took a step toward Viral. "Are you Jack? My friend here seems to think you are called Viral."

Viral slowly glanced from Kamina to Shepard, his cat-like eyes as disturbing as Kamina remembered. It seemed like just yesterday yet somehow also a lifetime ago that they were battling for the Dai-Gunzan. "Viral is my name. Some fools on Omega decided to call me Jack and the name stuck for some reason."

"Well, Viral, my name is Shepard. Council Spectre. I was sent here to free you from this place in the hopes that you would join my crew."

"Sent here? By who?" Viral asked. Then his eyes widened, catching sight of the Ouroboros symbol on Miranda's jumpsuit. He hammed the floor beside him with his fist. "Him," he snarled. "Will he ever be finished with me?"

"You are speaking of the Illusive Man?" Miranda piped up.

Viral ignored her and got to his feet. He walked up to Kamina and put his face uncomfortably close. Kamina drew back a little but stood his ground. The beastman studied him, even smelled him. "Is it really you, Kamina?" The blue-haired man nodded stiffly. "How? Simon said that you were killed by Thymilph."

Kamina snorted. "There is no way that big gorilla could have killed me."

Viral made a noise that conveyed his skepticism. "No, I think he really did kill you. So unless Simon..." Viral leapt backwards like a startled cat. "No! Why, after all this time, would he finally bring you back? You were the only one he never tried to…" Viral trailed off. Possibly because Kamina was staring at him, wondering if the beastman had gone mad.

"I haven't seen Simon since that battle for the Dai-Gunzan," Kamina confessed. He loathed asking a beastman for help but Viral was the first real lead he'd gotten. "Do you know where he is?"

"The battle was the last time you saw him?" Viral rubbed his chin with his big paw. "That doesn't make any sense. None of this does. You seem like yourself not…" Viral huffed and rubbed his forehead. "What do you remember after the battle? Tell me everything."

The commanding tone in Viral's voice set Kamina on edge but he answered the question. "The first thing I remember are those boobs," he said casually, pointing toward Miranda's chest. The Ouroboros agent gasped and folded her arms over her chest.

Viral's eye twitched. "What do you mean?"

Kamina shrugged. "I mean after the battle I woke up with Miranda above me, in a strange place. She and some others asked me a bunch of questions I didn't know the answers to and they locked me up. Shepard freed me and I have been traveling with her since. You're the first person from Earth that I've met since that time." _Well, there is also Leeron but I don't even want to get into that._

Viral was silent for a moment and then he muttered, "That makes even less sense." He rubbed his hand over his head. "You really don't know?"

"Know what?" Kamina snapped, starting to get annoyed.

"You don't," Viral said instead of answering him. "So why are you…?" Viral's yellow eyes shot open and he trembled. "Unless...unless…" Then Viral started to laugh. Kamina almost took a step back at the disturbing sound. The Viral he remembered had a sneering, arrogant laugh. This Viral's sounded like it was on the edge of madness. "Of course! Of course! If he...that would…" Viral's shrieking laughter continued. "It makes sense! It makes sense! That's why!"

The laughter went on long enough that Kamina finally snapped. "What the hell do you find so funny, Viral?!" he yelled.

The beastman trailed off, chuckling a few more times. He smirked at Kamina. "Nothing that you would understand, naked ape." Viral's response both enraged Kamina and kind of relieved him. The sheen of madness was gone from Viral's eyes, replaced by the beastman's normal haughtiness. Before Kamina could think of something to say, Viral turned to Shepard. "You," he said, pointing at her. "You were the one who defeated the reaper that attacked the Citadel, yes?" Shepard nodded. "Very well." Viral crossed his arms over his chest. "I will accompany you then. It seems to be my destiny to witness the exploits of champions of the spiral."

Shepard cocked her head. "Huh?"

Viral waved his hand. "It doesn't matter. You'll understand soon enough." He studied Shepard. "At least you are an adult this time. Not a boy."

The comment hit Kamina like a sledgehammer. _A boy? Does he mean me or…_ "Simon! What did you do to Simon?!"

Viral blinked. " _Me_ do something to _Simon_?" Viral laughed in disbelief. "Your out of your depth, Kamina."

That snapped Kamina's thinning patience. He charged at Viral and tried to grab him. The slippery beastman somehow both evaded Kamina and flipped him so he landed hard on his back. Kamina didn't pause for a second. He scrambled to his feet, charging a biotic wave to smack the sneer of Viral's face. Before he could do so, Shepard interposed herself between him and Viral. "Get out of the way, Shepard!"

Instead of complying, she stepped up to him and said, "Calm down, Kamina." She laid a hand on his arm and said, much more softly, "Listen, I want to know what is going on just as much as you do but this won't help. He's agreed to come with us. I will figure out what is going on, I promise you." Kamina hesitated but didn't stop charging the wave. He didn't want to listen. He didn't want to talk. He didn't want to be patient. He wanted to pulverize the beastman who taunted him. Shepard's blue eyes bored into him. "Do you trust me, Kamina?"

"I do, Shepard, but Viral...he…" Kamina hated how whining his tone was.

"Do you trust me?" she repeated, even more forcefully.

 _I do_. Kamina grit his teeth and let the energy drain out of him. His shoulders slumped. "I believe in you," he whispered. "Sukeban."

The tight smile she gave him assuaged his frustration and wounded pride somewhat. "Good," she said. "Then let's go."

 **Author's Notes:** Of course Viral was going to show up. First of all, he's my second favorite character in GL. Second, motherf**ker's immortal. I thought he slid in well to Jack's place, being a divisive element aboard the ship. Also, I don't care for Jack. You might also have noticed I'm not including Moridin as a crewmember (yet at least). Leeron is taking his place as the scientist aboard the _Normandy_. Unlike, say Jacob, however, Moridin exists in this universe so expect him to show up later.

Anyway, I hoped you like it. I hope to have the next chapter up sooner than I had this one up.


	4. Chapter 4

**Champion of the Naked Apes**

Shepard descended into the bowels of her ship. For some reason their newest compatriot, Viral, had decided to live down in the dark storage area underneath engineering. Shepard had offered him a normal room but the strange man had curtly declined. In the few days since they'd taken him aboard, he hadn't left once, not even for meals. Shepard knew so little about the man that she wasn't even completely sure that was a problem. Did he eat? What did he eat? She'd tried to ask Kamina what he knew but his answers had mostly been incoherent. However the two knew each other, it was clear there was no love lost. Shepard had to admit that she was getting very curious about the origins of the two now. She had pushed aside the question of where Kamina came from as fairly inconsequential. Now, though, she was starting to see that the connection between Kamina, Viral, the Illusive Man and even Leeron was important. She wasn't sure what she would learn by solving the mystery but she was growing increasingly sure that she had do so.

Viral was seated on the edge of a crate when she walked in. For the split-second before he noticed her, Shepard noted that he seemed quite pensive. That washed away instantly, however, and was replaced by an arrogant smirk. "I've been wondering when you were planning to come see me, Champion of the Spiral."

Shepard leaned against a bulkhead, affecting an air of nonchalance. "You've called me that before. What do you mean by it?"

Viral shrugged. "Just a term I like to use." She studied him as he spoke. He really was a very strange creature. Humanoid but with sharp teeth, cat eyes and huge clawed hands. Kamina had called him a 'beastman.' She wasn't sure if that was an insult or actually what Viral was supposed to be. _I certainly haven't heard of any aliens matching his description._ Shepard stared at him silently, waiting for him to continue. Viral finally did, his smile dimming a bit. "You know of the cycles?"

Shepard nodded. _Know of them? I've seen it._ "Every fifty thousand years or so the reapers come and wipe out all advanced civilizations."

"The reapers," Viral repeated. "That's not a bad name for them. Anyway, in every cycle there always seems to be one person that rises up and becomes the crux of the resistance against them. I call that person the Champion of the Spiral." Viral shrugged again. "Maybe I made it up or maybe I heard it somewhere. It's hard to keep track."

Shepard had to work to keep her cool. The way he was talking so casually about the reapers suggested that must have serious information on them. Shepard knew she was practically _the_ expert of Citadel space and she also knew how profoundly ignorant she was about the sentient machines. If Viral had even a few scraps of information then rescuing him from that prison was more than worth it. "Why spiral?" she asked, deciding to start slow.

Viral sneered. "You naked apes. Must you invariably be ignorant?" Shepard made sure to keep her spike of irritation from her face. Viral sighed. "What is it that you call the ability to travel through space?"

"The mass effect," Shepard responded.

"Right. And you call the creatures that can manifest energy bi...bioates? Biotees?"

"Biotics." _Bioates?_

Viral grunted. "Your physics is at least advanced enough to know that these phenomena are linked?" Shepard nodded. "Good. Your civilization isn't completely hopeless then." Shepard bit her tongue, wanting him to continue. "Spiral energy is the source of those powers. The…" Viral thought for a moment "...mass relays, right? Yes? The mass relays are simply tools to make it easier. Truthfully, if you have the right kind of ship, piloted by a person capable of generating enough spiral energy, something like a mass relay wouldn't be needed at all."

"That would be incredibly useful," Shepard said speculatively. _Did the protheans have that power? I always wondered how they managed to build the relays in the first place._

Viral gave her a flat look. "Indeed." He leaned back and lifted up his paw-like hands. "Anyway, it is the same with your 'biotics.' They are people who can use spiral energy, even if it is in the most rudimentary way possible."

"So, wait. Why would you call _me_ the 'Spiral Champion?' I've never shown any ability to use biotics."

Viral gave her a pitying look. _I'm starting to see why Kamina wanted to punch this guy the moment he saw him._ "Do you have double-helix DNA?"

"Well...yes. Of course."

"Then you can you spiral power, to one degree or another" He shrugged. "It hardly matters, though. The important thing is that you possess the will and the ability to lead the fight against the anti-spiral."

Shepard ignored the last part for the moment. "Are you saying that any human can use this 'spiral power?' Biotic power?" Viral nodded his head impatiently. Shepard touched her forehead. "No, that doesn't make any sense. To use biotics you have to be exposed to eezo in the womb. You need amps." _Though now that I think about it, Kamina doesn't have any amps at all, does he?_

Viral snickered. "Alright, let me make this a little simpler for you. Take fire. Now when you naked apes were sleeping in your own filth and poking each other with sharp sticks, fire must have seemed like magic. Little by little you learned why it might appear and eventually you were able to harness it in the most rudimentary way possible. You used the most basic effects of fire for light and heat and destruction without truly understanding the underlying principles." Shepard nodded. What he said was factual if leavened with contempt. "Understanding the mechanics of fire, however, allows you do more than any ancient naked ape could have conceived of, though yes? Harnessing it and using fire was the first revolution. Understanding it was the second."

It hit Shepard where he was going. "Combustion."

Viral gave her a narrow smile. "Perhaps you are a little smarter than I gave you credit for."

Shepard's mind swirled, trying to process all of this. In a way, it made sense that humans were like savages playing with fire. After all, they'd only left Earth a generation or so ago. But what about the salarians? The asari? "Who are you, Viral? How do you know all of this? Are you a scientist?"

Viral's good humor slipped. "I'm nobody. Just a soldier who lived too long. The only reason I know any of this is because it was common knowledge before." Viral sighed and leaned back. "It always gets suppressed by the anti-spiral, though."

 _Just like knowledge of the reapers themselves is suppressed._ Some pieces were falling into place for Shepard but at the same time she was scrambling to make any sense of what she was hearing. "Are you saying that you were alive when this was common knowledge? When was...was it during the time of the protheans?" Shepard suddenly remembered Ilos. The protheans had stasis pods that theoretically could have lasted fifty thousand years. Was Viral from that time? Was Kamina? _That can't be right._ Kamina, at least, was a modern human.

"The protheans?" Viral scratched his cheek. "Oh, you mean the four-eyed bugs from the last cycle? No, they were further along than you but still primitive. They used spiral power in some unique ways but generally they were too narrow-minded and stubborn." Viral spread out his hands and grinned. "Honestly, they put up one of the weaker fights against the anti-spiral."

 _I can only imagine Liara's reaction to someone speaking so familiarly of the protheans._ "So you actually witnessed the last extinction event?"

Viral laughed. It was shrill and mirthless. His cat-like eyes took on a glint of madness and Shepard wondered if she should be listening to him at all. "Witnessed it? I've seen them all. I've seen the anti-spiral come again and again, killing everyone, extinguishing all hope. It's the same every time. Every time."

Despite herself, Shepard found herself believing him. "But why?" she asked. "Why do the reapers come? Why do they kill everything?" Another question hit her. "And why do the let _you_ live?"

"Good questions," Viral said, settling back down. "I wish I had the answers to any of them."

"You don't?" Shepard asked skeptically.

Viral shook his head. "The anti-spiral's motivations have never been something I understood. I thought I did, once, but I was wrong."

Shepard sighed. So much of this still didn't make sense to her. She couldn't even think of what questions to ask. Then something came to her. "What about Kamina? He knows you and you know him but he doesn't know anything about the reapers or, well, anything really."

Viral snorted. "Of course he doesn't. That fool of an ape doesn't know anything."

Shepard narrowed her eyes. "But you know him."

Viral hesitated. "I did. I thought he was dead. As for how he came to be here...I can't answer that question."

"Can't or won't?" Shepard shot back. Viral just smiled enigmatically. Shepard rubbed her forehead and then pushed herself off the wall. "Fine." _I'll leave it there for now. He's given me plenty to chew on as it is._ "We'll talk later, Viral." Shepard turned and began to leave. Viral called out to stop her.

"Wait." Shepard turned back. Viral dithered for a moment. "I am honestly not certain how he came to be here but the fact that he is here is important, I think. You must have seen that he is unbelievably reckless. Keep him alive, if you can."

Shepard nodded. "You have my word." _Not that I needed you to tell me that._ Shepard liked Kamina and she'd always had a gift for recognizing the extraordinary. It was obvious to her that Kamina was important.

She left the hold and made her way to the lounge area of the ship. Her mind was spinning, trying to fit all of this new information into the murky picture she already had of the reapers and the cycles of destruction. _Lord, I wish Liara were here._ The asari scientist was incredibly smart and had helped Shepard put together the fragments and clues on the reapers into something approaching coherence. Shepard brought up her mail and saw that there was still nothing new from Barla Von. "Shit."

"Something wrong?"

Shepard glanced up and saw Garrus. She hadn't even realized that she'd made it to the lounge. The turian was seated on a couch, datapad held up in front of him. Shepard chuckled mirthlessly. "Do you really have to ask that anymore?"

Garrus' mandibles twitched with amusement. "Touche, Shepard. But what has you cursing at the moment?"

"I just had a chat with Viral," Shepard said, pouring herself a drink.

"Ah. Learn anything worthwhile?"

"Maybe." Shepard quaffed her drink in one go and shuddered. "What are you working on over there?"

"I was going over the specifications of your new ship, trying to see if we could increase the power of the main guns at all. Last time, the _Normandy_ hardly scratched that collector ship."

Shepard sat down next to him and glanced at the datapad in curiosity. "Any luck?"

"My people have recently developed a gun called the Thanix Cannon based on what we recovered from the reaper that attacked the Citadel. I think this ship has the power to fire it and it would give us a much heavier punch."

"No kidding," Shepard said, reading the technical details of the new Thanix. "Not bad. You think you can arrange for us to get our hands on one?"

"I think I can make it happen, if you don't mind the cost."

"Hell, Garrus, I didn't demand an open credit line from the Council for nothing."

"You have no idea how happy you just made me, Shepard." They both laughed and Shepard shifted position so she could lean back on the couch.

As soon as the pleasant distraction of the new guns left her mind, the various problems and questions she had no answer for invaded again. She covered her eyes and groaned. "What the hell, Garrus? What the _fuck_? How is this even happening? Unstoppable sentient machines that wipe out organic life that gets too advanced? I've _seen_ it with my own eyes and I barely believe it. How am I supposed to unite the galaxy against that?" Garrus didn't have any answers for her, which was hardly surprising. She wasn't asking easy questions. Impulsively, Shepard twisted around so that she was lying down on the sofa, her head resting on Garrus' leg.

The turian coughed uncomfortably. "Shepard...can I ask what you are doing?"

Shepard kept her eyes closed and grunted. "When I was kid and got upset, my mother would let me rest my head in her lap." Shepard sighed. "Her leg was a lot softer than yours, though, damn your hide." Shepard snickered at her own dumb joke.

Garrus chuckled too. "It's true. We turians aren't really built for...what was the word you humans use...snuggling? I once had a colleague of mine in C-Sec say something about going home to snuggle with his wife. The whole ordeal seemed...unpleasant."

Shepard opened her eyes and grinned up at him. "Snuggling turians. There's a thought."

"Like I said, Shepard. It's not something that a turian is built for. Neither physically nor mentally."

"So what do turians do when faced with the big questions of the universe?" _Or the crushing weight of responsibility for the lives of everyone you've ever met?_

Garrus' mandibles twitched. "Honestly, I don't think very many of us ever do. We're conditioned to believe in and take comfort in the chain of command. All of us trust that if we carry out our orders, we're are making the universe a better, safer place. If the stress does build up, however, most turians will take care of it with a good fight or a good fu-" Garrus stopped himself mid-word and tried to cover it with a cough.

Shepard laughed. "It's fine, Garrus. We're both adults here. It's not like no human has ever gotten it on because she needed to blow off some steam."

Garrus peered down at her. "When I was being briefed on humans, I was told that romance and sex are intertwined in your cultures. I thought the idea of recreational sex was offensive to humans."

"Depends on the human. Some might be offended but I most of us aren't that different from turians. I used to get into fights in high school to take out my frustrations." _Used to do the other thing to._ Shepard sighed. "I kind of feel like I could use a good workout right now actually."

"Well, I'm here if you really want to," Garrus said casually. Shepard stared at him with wide eyes. Garrus coughed and quickly added, "If you want to fight, I mean. I would be willing to have a bout with you. That's all, Shepard."

"Oh." _Of course that's what he meant._ Still her face was flushing with heat. Shepard quickly sat up. She glanced at Garrus out of the corner of her eye. _Sex with a turian? That's insane. An asari is one thing but what is turian sex even like? Does he even have a penis?_ Shepard covered her eyes with one hand. _What the hell am I thinking about?_

"Shepard," Garrus said nervously. "I've learned that human's faces only go red like yours when they are angry or humiliated. It was just a misunderstanding."

"I'm not mad, Garrus," Shepard said without looking at him. _I'm just embarrassed and..._ And what? She wasn't disgusted. The tight ball in her stomach told her she was actually...interested. She took a deep breath. "Garrus...what would you think if I said I might be interested in blowing off steam the...the other way?"

Garrus slowly turned his head toward her. Shepard never lamented the fact that turian faces had no discernible emotions than she did now. "What do you mean?"

 _What do I mean?_ Shepard wasn't even sure. Why in the world would she want to have sex with Garrus? She liked the turian and trusted him but she'd certainly never been attracted to him. _He's practically a dinosaur for Christ's sake!_ And yet…Shepard opened her mouth, completely unsure what she was about to say. For better or worse, however, EDI spoke before she could. "Sorry to interrupt you, Commander, but you have an urgent call from the Illusive Man."

Shepard leapt to her feet. "Is that so? I suppose I shouldn't keep him waiting." She glanced back at Garrus. "We'll talk later...okay?"

He stared back at her with an unreadable gaze. "Sure, Shepard."

Shepard practically sprinted from the room. When she was in the elevator, EDI buzzed into her ear, "If you like, Commander, I could gather information on turian/human sexual intercourse and prepare a document for you."

Shepard slammed her head into the door of the elevator. "It's not polite to eavesdrop, EDI."

"Forgive me, Commander. I don't have the discretion to close myself off from any portion of the ship."

"Yeah, yeah," Shepard grumbled as the elevator doors opened. "Just do me a favor and pretend that you never heard any of that."

"I also do not have the discretion to delete any portion of my memory."

"I know that," Shepard said. "That's why I said 'pretend.'"

"...Understood."

Shepard shook her head and marched to the briefing room. She stepped into the quantum entangler and found herself in the same dim room that she'd first spoken to the Illusive Man. He was standing in the center of the room, a silhouette against the red sun behind him. He was as massive as she remembered. Shepard met his eyes, which had those concentric circles spreading from the center. Now that she had spoken with Viral, she couldn't help but think... _spiral?_

"Shepard," he said quickly. "A colony in the terminus systems, Horizon, has just gone dark. I suspect the collectors. I want you to head straight there."

"Damn How long ago?" Shepard exclaimed, all other worries driven away.

"Minutes. This is the best chance we've had yet. Has Leeron concocted a countermeasure to the seeker swarms?"

Shepard shook her head. "I don't know. He hasn't told me anything if he has."

The Illusive Man's spiral eyes narrowed. "Well, I hope he has something. We can't wait any longer."

"I agree," Shepard said. "It's time to do some damage to these bastards." The Illusive Man nodded and Shepard stepped out of the entangler. "Joker," she said, activating her com. "Set a course for the colony Horizon in the Terminus right away." He acknowledged her crisply and without sarcasm. _I guess even he can read the mood sometimes._ Shepard sprinted to Leeron's lab and found the man tipped back on a stool reading a datapad. She caught a glimpse of what he was looking at and blanched. _That is not work related. Or work appropriate._ "Leeron," she said, causing him to glance at her over his shoulder. "Have you developed a measure for the seeker swarms?" _I hope for your sake that the answer is a resounding 'yes.'_ The odd man smiled and winked.

 **Part 2**

Kamina stood in his room, staring out into the vastness of space. When he was in Giha, all he could think about was how cramped the village had been. It was no place for a man as great as him. For almost as long as he could remember, he'd been obsessed with escaping. Now it seemed like the space around him was infinite. And he'd started to feel that creeping emotion that he'd buried since he was a child. Fear of the unknown.

It was Viral. The existence of the beastman, the fact that Viral _knew_ him, that had thrown Kamina's confidence into a tailspin. He'd begun to believe that his death had transported him into a new world. Following Shepard was ideal in that case. She was a great woman and was fighting a great enemy. But if Viral was alive then...what about Simon and Yoko? Shouldn't he try and find them? Shouldn't he force Viral to tell him? But there it was again. The creeping fear. Viral knew something about Simon. Kamina was sure of that. But something deep inside was terrified to learn was that was. Kamina didn't even know why. It was pure instinct. Kamina clutched his head with both hands and screamed. He hated this. Nothing was worse to him than indecision and hesitation.

"Are you finally having an aneurysm?" a bored voice asked from behind him.

Kamina spun around and saw Miranda leaning against the doorframe. His heart sped up slightly at the sight of her in her skintight black uniform. "What is an aneurysm?" he asked.

Miranda tapped the side of her head with one finger. "A brain hemorrhage."

"Ah," Kamina nodded. "And what is a hemorrhage?"

Miranda gave him a flat look. "Sometimes I think that you must be kidding. Didn't they have any kind of education in that village you purport to be from?"

Kamina's irritation spiked. "What's an education?" he asked sarcastically.

Miranda rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She stepped into the room. "I've been meaning to speak to you. How is that you know Jack? Even I know next to nothing about what he really is."

"So ask him," Kamina snapped. "You work for the same master after all."

Miranda's face tightened but then she just sighed and glanced away. "He makes me uncomfortable," she admitted. "I know the Illusive Man keeps secrets from me but something about Jack has always eaten at me. He knows things."

Kamina snorted. "I don't know about that. He's always just seemed like an asshole to me. I fought him a few times after I left Giha Village but we never really talked or anything. I don't know if he knows anything about anything."

Miranda's shoulders slumped. "Of course. I was fool to think a meathead who punches first and asks questions never would know anything worthwhile."

Kamina smirked. "What can I say? A man doesn't become great by talking and deliberating." Kamina slapped his stomach. "A real man feels it in his gut and takes action." Kamina nodded as his own wise words. _I need to get back to that._

Miranda, however, clearly disagreed. She pressed her fingertips to the sides of her head. "You are a world-class moron."

Kamina barked a laugh. Somehow he was feeling better. "Oh, I'm world-class alright." He walked forward and a startled Miranda backed into the wall behind her. Kamina braced one arm along the wall over her head and loomed over her. "And I think you like me more than you want to admit."

Miranda's eyes were wide. Kamina was gratified that he finally managed to disturb her haughty attitude. "Move," she said. Her voice lacked its usual command, however.

"Why? Am I making your heart race?" Kamina's certainly was. He idly wondered how much older she was than him but didn't really matter. She was almost hypnotically beautiful. Her superior attitude was somehow both annoying and attractive.

Miranda laughed. If it was forced, she was a good actress. "It takes more than a boy like you to get my pulse pounding."

Kamina cackled right back. "Sure about that?" He leaned forward so that their noses were almost touching. He stared directly into her eyes. Her icy blues glared right back for a moment but she looked away first. Kamina's smirk grew a little wider and he dropped his arm and stepped back. He was happy to have gotten under her skin but he wasn't sure what to do now.

Before Kamina could figure it out, EDI said. "Kamina, Miss Lawson, Shepard is requesting your presence on the in the briefing room." Kamina frowned. He couldn't say he was especially fond of the omnipresent AI. _Was she watching me and Miranda?_

"Well...I guess we should go," Kamina said, lamely. Miranda brushed by him without a word, icy cold once more. Kamina followed, wondering if he had just made everything worse. _I don't understand women. I really don't._ Shepard, Garrus and Grunt were already waiting in the briefing room. Kamina smiled at the big krogan. "How's it going?"

"Bored," Grunt snapped. "I hope Shepard called us here to announce a battle." Kamina frowned at the undercurrent of anger in the krogan's voice. He had hoped that joining the crew of the _Gurren Senken_ would cheer him up.

"What's going on, Shepard?" Miranda asked.

"I'll tell you when we're all here," Shepard responded crisply. _All?_ Kamina saw who she meant a moment later when Viral walked in. Kamina's stomach turned. Viral glanced around and when he saw how unwelcome he was, he just smiled, showing off his rows of sharp teeth. Shepard didn't notice or didn't care about the shift in the room. She nodded. "Good. We have an emergency. Right now, Joker is taking us to the colony of Horizon. According the Illusive Man, we can expect to find the collectors there."

"How does he have that kind of information?" Garrus asked.

Shepard hesitated. "I don't know. That will be something to figure out later. Now we need to focus on doing what we can to foil this attack." Shepard's omnitool lit up and she punched a button. A hologram of the planet appeared over the table. Horizon colony was lit up in red. "I have no idea what is actually going on down there so I want us to split into two teams. My team will consist of Viral and Miranda and we will enter here." She gestured to the top of the colony city. "The other team will enter the opposite side of the city. Garrus, that is you, Kamina and Grunt." Shepard glanced at Kamina. "Kamina, I want you to follow Garrus' orders as if they were my own."

Kamina eyed her skeptically. Following her orders was one thing. Shepard was a singular type of presence. Kamina didn't know the turian very well and, frankly, he didn't like following _anyone's_ orders. Before he could voice his objection, Miranda snapped, "I am supposed to be your second-in-command, Shepard. What qualifies the turian?"

Shepard spitted her with a glare that could have melted steel, making Kamina swallow his own protest. " _Garrus_ is qualified because I say that he is. Show me some actual leadership skills before you start complaining, Lawson." Miranda subsided but Kamina could tell she was fuming. He felt like he just dodged a bomb himself. Shepard glanced around to see if there were any more protests. When nobody spoke up, she continued, "Our first priority down there is rescuing as many colonists as we can." Kamina watched as Miranda struggled to hold her peace. He silently encouraged her to keep her mouth shut this time. Luckily, she did. "The second priority," Shepard continued, "is to gather any information we can on the collectors. The the third," she said grimly, "is to kill as many of the bastards as we possibly can." At that, Grunt smashed his fists together and nodded, Garrus chuckled softly and Kamina grinned. His doubts were washed away by her fierceness. Somehow, he was sure that he belonged here, with her. He had no logical reason for thinking this but Kamina was a man who listened to his gut. And right now it was telling him to wreak destruction on this woman's enemies.

Shepard nodded. "Alright, let's get to the shuttle." The six of them hustled to the armory and kitted themselves out. Then they took the elevator down and piled into the shuttle. Kamina didn't like this part. Being crammed into the small, windowless shuttle reminded him too much of being underground. He closed his eyes and started taking deep breaths. It helped that he could feel his new power rise up in him. For some reason, he began thinking of a green spiral, glowing and pulsating. _Like Simon's drill key._ The stray thought seemed important, somehow, but Kamina couldn't nail down why before the shuttle swung around and opened. Shepard, Miranda and Viral leapt off. Kamina noticed that Viral wasn't wearing any armor or carrying any weapons. It kind of made Kamina feel a little ashamed to be in his silver armor. As the door of the shuttle closed, Viral smirked at him as if he could tell what Kamina was thinking. Kamina twitched with the desire to jump out and punch the smirk off the beastman's face.

The shuttle soared on before he could. Shepard's voice came through the com, "Leeron's countermeasure seems to be working for now. I'll contact you if any problems crop up."

"Roger," Garrus confirmed. Soon the shuttle swung around and the door opened again. Kamina was out of it before it even opened all the way. Grunt was close behind. The turian followed them out a little slower. Kamina glanced around at the city in front of them. It reminded him that first colony he'd visited with Shepard. Like that one, this one was utterly and eerily silent. "Alright, you two," Garrus said. "We have no idea what is waiting for us in this colony so I want to be slow and deliberate." Kamina stared at the turian skeptically. _Slow and deliberate? That doesn't sound very fun._ He glanced sideways at Grunt and saw that the krogan was glowering at Garrus.

"Spineless," he rumbled. "Typical turian."

Garrus' mandibles twitched. "Mistaking carefulness for cowardice is something many krogans do. Dead krogans."

Grunt took a step forward. "What was that?"

Kamina put a hand on his arm. "The real enemy is back that way, Grunt." Kamina glanced in the direction of the colony and froze. He saw one. It was hard to make out more than the fact that it was green and not human but that was enough. "I see one!" he shouted. Grunt and Garrus immediately forgot their argument and stepped up next to Kamina, staring in the direction he was pointing.

"That's a collector alright," Garrus said. "Alright, Kamina you flank left, Grunt you flank right. We don't know how many more there are so let's take it down quick and quiet. We'll attack on my signal."

Kamina frowned and sighed. "That could work but how about this? I'll charge in and Grunt charges after me and then you charge in third?" Kamina smiled. _Now that's tactics._

Before Garrus could respond, Grunt snapped. "I should charge in first."

"Like hell!" Kamina shouted back. "It's my plan!" They eyed each other for a few seconds more and then Kamina realized what he had to do. He spun around and sprinted at the collector. Grunt was was only half a second behind.

"Wait!' Garrus cried. Then Kamina heard him mutter over the com, "Shepard, what have you saddled me with?"

Kamina started laughing. He summoned biotic energy to speed his steps, surprised by how fast the giant and clumsy-looking krogan was. The collector saw him and started spraying bullets in his direction. Kamina started zigzagging to counter. This did keep the collector from hitting him but it also let Grunt get into the lead. The krogan never slowed, simply running over the collector. Kamina winced as the bugman bounced off Grunt and smacked into a building, twitching feebly. Grunt reduced the top half of its body into green jelly with a blast from his massive shotgun. Kamina raised an eyebrow. He liked his own shotgun but _that_ thing was impressive. He'd have to ask Grunt about it later.

The rattling of a gun told Kamina that the collector hadn't been alone. He sprang up with the aid of his biotics and landed on the top of a building. He surveyed the colony and whistled. "Ten of you, huh?" He clenched a fist. "Don't you bastards think you're taking me a little too lightly?!" Kamina drew his other, smaller gun, deciding to see what it could do. _What did Shepard call this? That's right, the Locust._ Kamina leapt down and leveled his Locust at one of the bugmen. The thing practically sawed the collector in half. Kamina whistled and inspected the small gun. _Very nice._

A roaring Grunt charged into the fray, firing his shotgun wildly. A collector spinning and falling announced Garrus' arrival as well. Kamina laughed. He threw out a wave of energy and watched two collectors fly into the air. He brought down another with a burst from his machine gun. That left none standing that he could see. _At this rate we'll be at the center of the colony in no time._ Kamina walked forward but paused as he noticed one of the collectors he'd thrown with his biotic wave twitching. Kamina brought up his gun but before he could fire, he heard something say, "Assuming direct control." Kamina glanced around. He couldn't put a direction to the voice, almost as if he heard it directly in his brain. What's more, the voice seemed familiar to him somehow. He was sure he'd heard it before but the identity of the speaker remained elusive in his mind.

The collector shot up, grabbing Kamina's attention once more. Its arms spread out wide and it started to tremble and glow. Kamina took a step toward it. _What the hell is going on?_ The next instant, a burst of energy from the collector knocked Kamina onto his ass. The collector fell back to Earth, only now glowing orange lines of energy ran through it. All four eyes were blazing. Kamina stared at it as it advanced toward him, frozen for the moment. The bugman stopped in front of him but didn't attack. Instead it studied him. Kamina watched as the bugman looked him up and down and then shook its head slightly.

Kamina clenched his fist and activated his omnitool blade. He surged to his feet and drove the blade right between the eyes of the bugman. "Who The Hell Do You Think You're Looking At Punch!" he screamed. The collector twitched once and then disintegrated. _What the hell was that?_ Kamina vaguely felt like he'd seen something important but he couldn't figure out why.

"You good?" Grunt asked, landing a heavy hand on Kamina's shoulder.

The human nodded and grinned. "Sure. I just thought that thing would be tougher."

Grunt chuckled. "These things are hardly worth the ammo."

"You two!" Garrus said, walking up to them with his sniper rifle slanted across his chest. "What were you thinking, charging off like that?"

Kamina shrugged. "It worked didn't it? We got them all?"

"What if there had been twice as many of them here? What if there had been civilians? Our priorities are supposed to be saving the colonists and gathering information on the collectors."

"Ah, grow a quad, turian," Grunt rumbled. "The best way to save the colonists is to kill every last one of these bugs."

Garrus argued back but Kamina ignored them, noticing something weird. He entered a nearby building and saw that there really was a human inside. Only the man was completely frozen. Kamina tapped the body and was repelled by some kind of forcefield. "Oy!" he shouted. "Come look at this."

Garrus walked in and studied the man. "Huh. The seeker swarms impart some kind of stasis field." Garrus looked closer. "I think he's still conscious in there." Kamina shuddered. _That would be horrible._ "I wonder what they want with all these live humans." Kamina's stomach curdled. _New world, same shit. I'll stop these bugmen, the same as I stopped the beastmen._ Kamina was sure they were stopped. He and Simon had managed to capture the Dai-Gurren. Simon should've been able to take it from there. His blood brother had more determination than anyone Kamina had ever met. "Shepard," Garrus called over the com. "We found a man in stasis on our end. Have you seen anything like it over there?"

"No," Shepard said. She sounded out of breath. "Can you free him?"

"I don't know. I'm not familiar with the technology," Garrus responded.

"Then leave him for now. Focus on driving to the center of the colony. We'll see if Leeron can get them out after the collectors are gone."

"Understood." Kamina jerked his head as a sign for Kamina to follow him. They joined Grunt outside the building. "Alright, you two," Garrus said, fiddling with something on his rifle. "It seems that you're not willing to follow standard squad tactics."

Kamina smirked. "Ducking and crawling aren't really in my nature."

Grunt rumbled a laugh. "Well said, human."

Garrus glanced at both of them and then, surprisingly, chuckled. "Well, hell, I was just worried about keeping you two greenhorns alive but if it's like that..." Garrus pointed right and then left with his rifle. "Kamina you go left, Grunt you go right, I'll take the center. Try not to get too far ahead of one another and call if you need help."

"Are you sure you won't be the one calling, turian?" Grunt mocked.

Garrus chuckled lightly and a shiver ran up Kamina's spine as he suddenly realized how predatory the turian could look when he wanted too. "Don't you worry about me, baby krogan. Compared to Omega, this place a stroll in the park."

Kamina grinned. "Let's do it, Garrus. These bugmen won't know what hit them."

The turian nodded and then said, "Go." Grunt lumbered to the right and Kamina sprinted to the right. He ran until the turian was just barely in sight and then charged into the colony. A group of five collectors appeared in front of him after a few moments. Kamina activated his omniblade and boosted into them. _This is gonna be fun!_

 **Part 3**

Shepard sighted a collector through her scope and pulled the trigger twice. Both shots lased through the alien and it collapsed. She lowered the rifle and glanced around. The only live collector in sight was in the massive paws of Viral. The strange man was holding it aloft with one hand around its neck. The other hand drove forward and through the collector. Viral threw the dying alien to the side like it was so much trash. Shepard had initially been very concerned about Viral's complete lack of weapons and armor but he was tearing through the collectors in disturbing fashion.

"Shepard," Miranda called. "I think I found one of the colonists." Shepard hustled over to her. "It's just like Garrus said, some sort of stasis field." Shepard studied the frozen colonist and blanched when his eyes moved. _They are taking them alive. Why?_

"We've got company!" Viral shouted. Shepard twisted around and saw that a new squad of collectors was flying in. With a muttered curse, she braced her rifle against her shoulder and shot one of them out of the sky. Miranda knocked another out of the sky with a biotic wave but the rest managed to land safely. Shepard took cover behind a crate and sighted in on another collector. She was shocked when it shot up into the air and stretched out like it was being crucified. Orange energy shot out of its every crevice before it crashed down to the ground. Shepard initially thought it was dead and was wondering who or what killed it when it staggered up.

"Shepard." Shepard flinched back. It felt like the collector was speaking directly into her brain. "I am Harbinger. The harbinger of your end."

Shepard took a step back. "What-what the hell? Are you a reaper?"

"We are the anti. We are the preservers. You are ignorant. You will learn and you will regret, Shepard."

"Right back at you, you son of a bitch," Shepard muttered. She triggered a volley of shots and the collector disintegrated under the onslaught.

"This form is irrelevant." The voice was growing fainter now. "You cannot escape your destiny, Shepard. You cannot stop us."

 _Watch me!_ Shepard snarled silently. A hand on her shoulder made Shepard jump. "Sorry, Shepard," Miranda said. "Are you...are you alright?"

Shepard nodded. "Fine." Her eyes sought out Viral's. He was frowning and Shepard had the feeling that he'd either heard Harbinger or at least had some idea of what had been happening.

"Commander," EDI said over the com. "May I have a moment of your time?"

"What is it, EDI?" Shepard said impatiently.

"It seems the colonists were installing GARDIAN towers to defend the colony. The targeting system needs to be calibrated before they can fire. The colonists were having trouble but it should be an easy fix for me."

 _That could be a godsend. I had no idea how we were going to drive that ship out of here. But…_ "How did you learn this?"

"It is standard protocol for me to learn what I can of any planet we visit. Of course, I would never act on any information without you direct order."

 _I know it is just a backwater colony but to be able to slice into their defense systems like that...just what did Ouroboros create here?_ Shepard shook her head. Thoughts for later. "Great work, EDI. Fire as soon as you can align the guns. Target the engines." Maybe they could cripple the ship and bring it down. She could only imagine what kind of information they could get from it.

"The laser banks will take several minutes to charge, Commander. I have no doubt that the collector ship will read the energy. It is also possible they will dispatch forces to sabotage the towers."

 _Of course_. "Understood, EDI. Get the towers ready to fire asap anyway." Shepard switched frequencies. "Garrus, how are things going on your end?"

"Not bad,' Garrus responded. "I'm staying ahead of that baby krogan but I think the blue-haired punk has a couple of kills on me."

"...What?"

Garrus coughed. "I mean, we are making steady progress. I estimate two minutes until we reach the center of the colony."

"Great. EDI should have a navpoint for you to make for. There are GARDIAN towers on the planet. We need to protect them until they are ready to fire. Move to that position as fast as you can."

"Can do, Shepard. See you there."

Shepard brought the navpoint up on her own omnitool and was pleased to see it was close by. "Shepard," Miranda said.

"Hang on, Miranda."

"No, Shepard! Something is coming!"

"Huh?" Shepard glanced up, annoyed. That was quickly forgotten when she saw what Miranda was freaking out about. Hurtling toward them was a giant face. With arms and legs. The face was grey and skull-like. Shepard's stomach tightened. It was like a miniature, crude _King Kittan_. _A miniature reaper?_ It was roaring. Shepard instinctively leapt away from it as it crashed into the ground. The shock wave from the landing threw her back further than she had planned and she slammed hard into a building. She slid down, coughing and trying to get her breath back. Even though she was rattled, Shepard quickly took stock of the situation. Miranda was in the same shape as Shepard, on her hands and knees after being thrown by the mini-reaper's landing. And Viral was... _charging straight at the reaper?!_

The strange man hopped onto the thing's head and proceeded to start pulling at the top of its eye-socket. The mini-reaper tottered backward and Shepard thought for a moment that Viral would succeed in upending it. Then the reaper lifted one hand and a beam shot out of the palm. It lanced straight through Viral and he tumbled off the head. Shepard went cold. Viral couldn't die yet. She still had too many questions for him! Her brain went into overdrive, trying to come up with a way to take down the little reaper as quickly as possible. Her rifle and pistol were anti-personnel. She doubted they would even penetrate the face's armor. Miranda had her biotics but she would have to be an Asari Huntress to be able to tear that thing apart. _Or Kamina._

The face turned toward her and sprayed it's palm laser at her before she could call her biotic friend. Shepard dived and rolled behind a building. When she came to her feet she was next to a dead collector. Its broken neck attested to who killed it but Shepard was much more interested in the weapon next to the body. She smiled grimly. _Alright, let's see how well you stand up to a dose of your own medicine._ Shepard snatched up the collector particle beam cannon and contacted Miranda. "Are you alright, Miranda?"

"Yes but that... _thing..._ is headed your way, Shepard. I don't know how to stop it."

"Do you think you can grab it with your biotics? I just need you to hold it for a few seconds," Shepard responded.

"Yes, I think I could," Miranda said cautiously.

"Then do it now." Shepard jumped out even as she was speaking. The mini-reaper hesitated for a moment when she raised the beam cannon. That second was all the time Miranda needed to snag it with her biotics. Miranda's arrogance could be grating but she certainly backed it up with some skills. Shepard fired the cannon. A bright beam drilled into the face. Shepard spontaneously decided to target the same eye that Viral had. After a few seconds, the beam punched directly through the eye. None too soon, either, as a moment later, the particle beam flickered and died. Shepard glanced at the cannon with curiosity wondering how to reload it. _Maybe it'll charge itself back up?_

The reaper keeled over and didn't move. With a sigh of relief, Shepard attached the cannon to her back. She would need to carry heavier weapons if there was a chance she would face more of the small reapers. She drew her pistol and advanced cautiously on the downed machine. _Was that Harbinger?_ Somehow Shepard doubted it.

"Nice work." Shepard started at the sound of Viral's voice. The strange man was walking toward her as if nothing was amiss. And there wasn't a scratch on him. _How in the hell?_ Shepard's stomach flip-flopped when she saw that there was indeed a hole burned through his jumpsuit on the right side of his chest. _Is his skin invulnerable or something?_

Viral jumped up onto the face and and braced his feet on the bottom half of the mouth. He pushed down and Shepard watched in fascination as the mouth of the face opened. Viral reached inside and dragged something out. He flung it on the ground and the creature landed spread-eagle. Shepard stared at it, having no idea what she was looking at. The creature was humanoid but covered entirely in black fur. Half its face was melted off from the particle beam but it didn't look like any species Shepard was familiar with. _A new type of alien?_

"What the hell is that?" Miranda asked, joining them.

"It was the pilot of the face machine," Shepard said. "I've never seen anything like it though."

Viral hopped down from the machine and snarled, "It's a beastman." He kicked the corpse. "That's why the bug-folk are collecting humans. The little twerp has no imagination. Copying his betters."

Shepard and Miranda glanced at each other. "What?" the asked almost simultaneously.

Viral squatted down, grasped the top of the creature's head and lifted it up. "The point is _this_ used to be human. The humans that were taken today, that were taken from the other humans, they are going to come back at you. Just like these collector things are corruptions of the species that came before."

Shepard tensed. "You're saying that the collectors used to be protheans?"

"Of course! Where did you think they came from? The reapers took the protheans and corrupted them and twisted them into servants, taking away all their power."

Shepard put a hand to her head. She knew about indoctrination, of course. It was one of the most insidious methods the reapers used. But that the enemy's own foot soldiers would be mutated humans? "Will they do this to the others?" She didn't need Viral's affirmative nod. Of course they would. What would suck the life out of resistance faster than the fact they were facing their own people?

"That's monstrous," Miranda said. "Shepard, we have to stop this as quickly as possible. Every colonist they take is more than just one loss now. It's every person one of these things kills as well."

"I know, I know," Shepard said, feeling drained. _And knowing, can I simply drive the collector ship away? Should I attempt to board and rescue all the colonists?_

"Commander," EDI said in her ear. "The collector ship has noticed the charging GARDIAN towers. It is lifting off now."

 _Damn it!_ "EDI, do whatever you can to charge those towers faster. Prioritize one over the other if possible. I want the thrusters destroyed before it escapes."

EDI was silent for a moment. "Commander, I have explored all contingencies will not be able to fire with enough power to damage the thrusters before the ship exits the range of the towers."

Shepard cursed. "Well, just do your best, EDI!"

"I am incapable of doing otherwise," came the flat reply. _Oh. Right._ Shepard sighed and waved her companions to follow. "Let's get the rendezvous point, at least." They hustled away, taking care of a couple straggling collectors before reaching the GARDIAN towers. Garrus, Grunt and Kamina were already there. Judging by the collectors littered around them, they'd had quite the fight. None of them looked worse for the wear, however.

Shepard glanced up and saw that the collector ship was starting to disappear into the upper atmosphere. The GARDIAN towers still weren't firing. "How long until you have those guns online, EDI?" Shepard groused.

"Twenty seconds, Commander." _Too late._ Just as EDI had surmised.

"Wait!" An unfamiliar voice shouted. "Half the colony's on that ship!" Shepard half-turned to see a man running toward them. "You can't let them just leave!"

"Sorry, I…" Shepard shook her head. _I made a mistake._ There was bound to be a massive amount of collectors on that ship but the six of them probably could have done something. Rescue the colonists at least.

"Without us, every one of you would be on that ship," Miranda cut in. "We did what we could." Shepard stared up at the retreating ship and EDI's parting shots. _It wasn't enough._ She glanced around and saw that Kamina was also glowering up at the ship.

"Who are you people anyway?" the colonist asked angrily.

"Commander Shepard," a familiar voice called out before Shepard could say anything. "The first human spectre, savior of the Citadel." Ashley Williams stepped into sight and glanced at the colonist. "You're in the presence of a god, Delan."

Delan snorted with derision. "Figures. All the good people we lost and somehow you survive. Fat lot of good your 'protection' did us." Delan waved in disgust and walked away. "I'm done with you Alliance."

Ashley watched him go and then turned back to Shepard. Shepard gazed back at her with some consternation. Ashley was the only one of her old squad she hadn't really considered contacting. The woman was Alliance through and through and very...forthright. Narrow-minded some might say. It made Ashley a good soldier but Shepard didn't think it was a very good mindset for the kind of mission she was on at the moment. Her former squadmate walked up and stuck out her hand. Shepard shook it with some relief. "I thought you were dead, Commander."

"I was. Or the next thing to it," Shepard said with a smile.

Ashley's eyes traveled over the people assembled around Shepard. "I see that you've assembled a new crew." Shepard could hear the faint hurt and recrimination in her voice. "Or almost new. Hello, Vakarian."

"Nice to see you again, Williams," Garrus said coolly.

Ashley's face trembled a bit and Shepard could see she was trying to hold tight to her professionalism. It cracked. "Two years, Shepard! Why haven't you contacted us? It was devastating to think you were dead. You were more than our commander...I…" Ashley trailed off, clearly trying to regain control of her emotions.

"I'm sorry, Ashley," Shepard said calmly. "Honestly, I was completely out of commission for most of that time." Shepard pointed at Miranda. "It took her two years just to get me back on my feet again."

Ashley glanced at Miranda and her eyes widened. She stepped back. "There were rumors that you were working for Ouroboros but I didn't believe it. What are you thinking, Shepard?"

"I'm working _with_ them not _for_ ," Shepard clarified. "They are trying to do something about all these colonists going missing."

"What if they're the ones behind it?!" Ashley exploded. "We were tipped off that Ouroboros was monitoring this colony. That's why I'm here."

Miranda scoffed. "You're being ridiculous. You saw what's happening. It's the collectors that are abducting colonists."

"And maybe you're working with them," Ashely shot back.

"Ash, that's just not true," Shepard said. "It was the collectors that took the colonists. Ouroboros had nothing to do with it."

"Maybe the collectors and Ouroboros are working together," Ashley insisted. "The reason I'm here is that we got a tip that Ouroboros was monitoring this colony. The next thing we know, the collectors are hitting it."

 _That's interesting,_ Shepard thought as Garrus said, "Damn it, Williams, you're trying to twist the facts to support your preconceived narrative. That's the most dangerous mistake an investigator can make."

"I can't believe _you're_ with them, Garrus," Ashley snapped. "They're xenophobes!"

"I don't trust them," Garrus said calmly. "But right now we have a common enemy."

"That's right," Shepard cut in. "I don't trust Ouroboros either but the real enemy here are the reapers. I am certain the collectors are working with them." Ashley looked shaken and didn't retort immediately so Shepard continued, "You know me, Ash. Everything I've done since I became a Spectre has been to combat the reapers. You were with me on Ilos. You saw what _one_ of them did to the Citadel. That's the real fight."

For a moment Shepard thought that she had won Ashley over but then the woman shook her head. "I'd like to believe you, Shepard, but I don't trust Ouroboros and I never will. This isn't the way to do this. Come back to the Alliance."

Shepard sighed. "I can't do that. The reason Spectres exist is so they don't have to deal with bureaucratic red-tape and chains of command. I refuse to be slowed down or compromise fighting the reapers. I can't afford it."

Ashley's glare sharpened. "Are you sure they didn't fiddle with your brain when they rebuilt you?"

"How dare you?!" Miranda hissed. Shepard glanced at her sideways, amazed at how indignant Miranda could get about something she absolutely would have done given the chance.

Ashley shook her head sadly one more time and turned to leave. "Wait!" Shepard called after her. "Even if you don't believe in me anymore, don't forget what you saw. The reapers are coming and the Alliance needs to be ready for it." Ashley paused to hear her out and then gave a nod before setting off again. Shepard watched her leave with frustration. She hand Ashley had never seen perfectly eye-to-eye but Shepard hadn't expected such a negative reaction. _You die for a couple years and suddenly everybody loses faith._

"You alright, Shepard?" Garrus asked, stepping up next to her.

"Yeah but let's get off this colony."

Garrus nodded. "Sounds good to me."

A short time later, Shepard found herself in the chambers of the Illusive Man. "Good work on Horizon, Shepard. Hopefully the collectors will think twice before hitting another colony so brazenly."

Shepard's hands curled into fists. "It wasn't a victory. The collectors took half the colony. The people that they took..." Shepard trailed off, unsure of how much the Illusive Man knew and how much she wanted to divulge.

The Illusive Man's eyes flashed. "It's more than anyone else has done. We learned valuable information on Horizon but trying to defend all the colonies in the Terminus is a fool's errand. We need to hit them where they live."

Shepard nodded. "I can agree with that."

"Good. I'll find a way to get you to the collector home world, Shepard. You focus on making a crew that can handle anything."

"So far that is going better than expected." Shepard saw a chance to try and knock a little information loose. "Viral has been a welcome addition to the crew."

The Illusive Man didn't even blink. "Is that so? I'm glad he trusted you enough to tell you his real name. Viral can be prickly and secretive."

"Yes, I've noticed. That Viral has a lot of...interesting theories."

The Illusive Man smirked. "Viral is an interesting man and an excellent soldier."

"I agree." _So the Illusive Man isn't going to volunteer any information._ Shepard felt the urge to demand he tell her what he knew of spiral power and the anti-spiral and everything else but she repressed it for now. The Illusive Man was still a valuable ally.

"Miranda has information on a potential recruit," the Illusive Man said after the silence had stretched. "He's on Illium now but he's hard to track and predict so I suggest you head there straightaway."

"I'll take it under advisement," Shepard responded. The Illusive Man smirked again and then he and his chamber fizzled out. _Ass._ Instead of leaving the conference room, Shepard sat at the table. She was finally alone and there was an urgent message from Barla Von that had been waiting for her since she returned to the _Normandy._ Shepard mentally crossed her fingers and opened it up. It was brief and to the point.

 _Shepard, I have located the asari. Apologies for the delay but many of my information sources were strangely reluctant to divulge anything regarding her. This is speculation but I believe she has crossed the Shadow Broker. If this is the case, she is undoubtedly in danger. You will find her at Dilinaga University on Illium. This message and its path to you will be erased the moment you close it._

Shepard closed the message after reading it through twice. "Illum," she mused aloud. "How serendipitous." _And if the Shadow Broker is really targeting Liara, he is about to learn a hard, hard lesson._

 **Author's Notes:** Whew, this one was a bit of a labor. Lots of exposition. I hope everything made sense. I can't say that I am totally happy with it but I want to move on. Next up we're heading to Illium and Tuchanka, which should be a lot of fun. As always, thanks for reading!

Kuragari


	5. Chapter 5

**Team Building Exercises**

"What a pisshole," Miranda grumbled. She glared around, hands on her hips. "Let's do what we need to do and get out of here."

"It's not so bad," Kamina responded, pushing his glasses back and looking up. It really wasn't. It was a bit dirty and the sky was grey but, hell, at least there was one.

"No," Grunt rumbled from Kamina's other side. "She's right. This is Tuchanka? This chunk of dead rock barely worth standing on? Makes me miss the tank."

Kamina glanced at him warily. The reason they were even here was because Grunt had a little freak-out in the _Gurren Senken_. Shepard that that maybe something was wrong with him so she had sent them to the krogan home world to try and figure out what. Meanwhile, she had taken off to recruit someone else for the team. For whatever reason, she had insisted that Miranda accompany him and Grunt. Over Miranda's strenuous protest. Which left Kamina with two incredibly irritable companions. It also meant that Viral was with Shepard, something that made Kamina uneasy. _Oh, well. If anyone can handle that bastard, it's my sukeban._

Kamina slapped Grunt on his huge shoulder. "Come on, big guy. Shepard told us that her old friend Wrex would help us out. You'll be feeling better soon." Grunt's only response was a growl. Kamina checked out the little port area. There were a few krogans but none of them were paying any attention to the new arrivals. Kamina picked out a pair at random and walked up to them. "Hey guys, could one of you tell me where to find Urdnot Wrex?" One of the krogan rolled an eye toward him but that was it. Neither of them even paused their conversation. "Oy, I'm talking to you…" Kamina stepped forward and grasped the arm of one of nearest krogan.

The next thing he knew, he was flying through the air, back between Miranda and Grunt and halfway up the ramp to the _Gurren Senken_. Kamina rolled back up to knees and shook his head. He wiped the corner of his mouth and it came away bloody. A smile stretched across his face and he snickered. He glanced up and toward his companions. Grunt smashed his fists together and nodded. Miranda sighed and closed her eyes but didn't voice a protest. Kamina gathered his energy and charged the krogans.

The stone jail cell was bare and dirty. Kamina sat against one wall, gently holding the right side of his face. It was swollen and throbbing. Just about every other part of him hurt as well. Krogans didn't go easy, either in a fight or in breaking one up. Grunt was pacing back and forth, somehow looking none the worse for wear. Kamina wasn't sure how that was possible, since it had taken no less than five krogan wailing on him to take him down. And that was after he had wrecked about a dozen others. Miranda sat about as far away from Kamina as was possible in the little cell. She had her legs drawn up to her chest. "How did you manage to get us into a brawl two seconds after we got here?" she groused.

Kamina smirked. "It was pretty easy, actually. You were there."

Miranda signed and dropped her head so that it was resting on her knees. "Why are we in jail anyway? Since when do the krogan have jails?"

"Since I took over," a deep bass voice said. Kamina turned toward the sound and saw the most intimidating krogan he'd ever seen. And considering the species, that was saying something. His bright red crest was covered in scars, some of which ran all the way down his face. His red eyes burned a vicious intelligence. _Reminds me of Viral._ "I came to see the three who caused so much havoc. Two humans and one of them a pretty girl." He chuckled. "Well, unlike most krogan, I know not one to underestimate a pretty human girl." His gaze swiveled to Grunt. "And you…" He stepped up to the bars and looked Grunt up and down. Grunt stood straight and met the other krogan's gaze. "You put on quite a show out there. What clan are you from, boy?"

After a pause, Grunt said, "I am clanless. I was tank-bred by Warlord Okeer."

"Okeer, is it? Now there is an old name. A hated name." The krogan stared at Grunt. "I've met other tank-bred. Killed all the other ones. They were mindless, though. You seem sane."

"I am pure krogan. You should be in awe." Kamina noticed that Grunt said this by rote, though. Not with pride.

"Pure krogan?" the red-crested krogan laughed again. "Well, not many could have knocked around the entire port authority, that's certain."

Miranda suddenly stood up. "Am I correct in assuming that you are Urdnot Wrex?"

"That's right. Miranda Lawson, wasn't it? I let you land because you said that Shepard had sent you but she usually has better sense than to start a fist-fight with a dozen krogan." He busted into a smile and Kamina decided that he liked Wrex. "Well, most of the time anyway."

"Well," Miranda responded, distinctly uncomfortable. "I normally do to. I apologize most sincerely for the trouble we have caused."

Wrex seemed taken aback by that. "Are you sure you're with Shepard?"

Kamina took that as his cue to jump in. He got to his feet. "Damn straight we are. Sukeban set us here to do something about Grunt here." He slapped a hand on the krogan's shoulder. "We think he might be sick."

"Sick?"

"He's aggressive. In a way he says he cannot control," Miranda chimed in.

"We thought maybe a nice brawl might work some of it off before we met you," Kamina added with a big smile.

Wrex laughed loudly at that. "It is true that we krogan need a good dust-up every now and then to feel right. Aggression is just a natural part of being a krogan." Wrex sobered and continued. "You need a clan, though, boy. To focus and channel that aggression into something productive. You need to go through the rite of passage."

"The rite of passage? What's that?" Kamina asked. _It sounds cool._

"That's for the shaman to discuss. If Grunt here is willing. What do you think, boy? Do you have what it takes to be an Urdnot?"

Grunt paused for a long moment and then nodded. "It is in my blood."

"Good lad." Wrex activated his omnitool and tapped a button. The locks on the door of the jail cell came open. "Come on. I'll take you to them."

Kamina hurried and caught up to Wrex so that they were walking side by side. "So how do you know Shepard?" he asked.

Wrex let out a rumbling laugh that vibrated through Kamina. "Me and her saved the universe, kid. Well, with a bit of help from Liara and that turian. How'd you hook up with her?"

Kamina shrugged. "I was imprisoned. Shepard busted me out. I've been running with her ever since."

Wrex chuckled. "That sounds like something she would do. Take my advice and keep running with her, kid. I've never met anyone like that woman. It's taking everything I have just to save my own people. She'll save all of us and probably make it look easy in the process." Kamina nodded. He thought the same thing. There was something inside her. A will that could blast through everything in its path. He'd seen the same thing in Simon.

They emerged from the prison and out into the dim, grey light of Tuchanka. To be honest, the inside and outside of the prison were barely distinguishable. Everything was grey rubble. Wrex pointed up and said, "The Shaman is on the second level there. Tell him that I sent you to undergo the rite. Come see me if you have any more questions. And try not to get into anymore brawls." With a last snicker, Wrex rumbled away.

"Come on," Kamina said, turning back to his companions. Grunt nodded, looking serious. Miranda just seemed impatient. _I really need to get that woman to loosen up._ They made their way up the second level of the rundown building only to find several krogan, none of them obviously the shaman.

The problem was solved when a krogan with a green plate and armor with bright blue lights yelled, "You cannot keep supporting him, Shaman. He is perverting everything that it means to be krogan!"

"Bah!" the Shaman said. "Enough, Uvenk. The rites of Urdnot are dominant and Wrex is our leader. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you take it up with Wrex himself." Kamina was no krogan expert but he judged that Wrex could eat Uvenk for breakfast with room left over.

"Shaman!" Kamina shouted, jogging over. "We have a krogan that wants to undergo the rite of passage."

Both krogan swiveled their heads and glared at Kamina. "Turn around, human," Uvenk growled. "This is no place for you."

The Shaman, however, walked away from Uvenk and up to Grunt. Kamina could tell by the way Grunt's eyes moved that he was uncomfortable being scrutinized. "I don't recognize you. Are you a child of Urdnot?"

"I was tank-bred by Warlord Okeer."

The Shaman tilted his head. "A tank-bred?"

"My line was distilled from Kredak, Moro, Shiagur..." Grunt spoke again by rote.

"Enough!" Uvenk interrupted. "You recite warlords but you are the offspring of a syringe."

The Shaman sighed. "I have had about enough of you inserting yourself where you have no business, Uvenk. But he is correct. I don't know if a clone can undergo the rights of Urdnot."

"Your leader, Wrex, gave us permission. This krogan travels with the Spectre Shepard," Miranda said. "So can we skip all this bullshit and get on with the rite?"

"I would appreciate you not being so dismissive of the rite, tiny woman. But if Wrex really said that it was fine..."

"This is ridiculous!" Uvenk exploded. "Wrex goes too far. This _thing_ isn't a krogan."

The shaman took a sniff of Grunt and said, "He smells right. If Wrex is fine with it, I see no reason why he shouldn't undergo the rite."

"This cannot be!" Uvenk shot back. "He is a mutant, he is artificial! How do we even know the beasts of the rite will acknowledge him? They will ignore him like a lump of plastic. And does he even have a krantt? How could he when-"

Kamina listened to the krogan go on and on, getting angrier and angrier. Finally, when he could stand it no more, Kamina gave into his instincts. He reared back and slammed his head into the Uvenk's. It hurt like hell but Kamina kept his head pressed up to Uvenk's and said with a smile, "Oy, oy, oy! One more word about Grunt and I'm going to rip that green plate off your head and wear it like a trophy."

Uvenk stepped back and stuttered, "You...you dare…?"

The Shaman was laughing. "I like this human. I think he answered your question about Grunt's krantt." He turned to Kamina. "You are willing to fight with him?"

Kamina smashed his fist into the palm of his other hand. "Me and Grunt will obliterate everything in our path." He licked at the blood sliding down his face.

"Any more objections?" the Shaman asked Uvenk.

"This isn't over," Uvenk growled. Then he walked away, shouldering Kamina out of the way. Kamina glared after him. _I hope it's not over. Please come after us. I can't wait._

"Well, are you ready to begin?" the Shaman asked. "Be warned. Once you begin, the rite will only end with your glory or your death."

Grunt nodded. "Let's go."

The Shaman smiled and led them to a six-wheeled tank-like vehicle. They all piled inside and sat on the benches along either wall. Well, most of them did. Miranda stayed standing, grasping a handrail, after glancing distastefully at the dirty benches. Kamina didn't mind. The ride was extremely bumpy and watching Miranda try to keep her balance was...stimulating. He was worried about her though. She had been in an even worse mood than usual after Shepard had sent her away. Kamina had trouble understanding her. She wanted to be with Shepard but questioned her every move and certainly wasn't loyal. _What does she expect? What does she really want?_

An extra hard bump caused Miranda to lose her footing but Kamina was quick enough to catch her before she hit the ground. He gave her an arrogant smile and was expecting a tongue-lashing in return. Instead, Miranda glanced away from him and muttered, "Thanks." Kamina set her back on her feet, wondering if that was a good or a bad sign.

The tank stopped abruptly, almost spilling Miranda again. "We're here," the Shaman growled. He leapt out of the car first and they followed him. "This is Tuchanka's most recent scar," the Shaman said as they walked. "The last surface city to fall in the rebellions. The keystone was at the heart. It has survived wars and the passage of centuries. It endures - like the krogan. If you wish to join Clan Urdnot, you must contemplate the keystone and its trials."

"What will happen?' Grunt asked.

"Who knows? You must adapt. You must thrive, no matter the situation. Any true krogan will." The Shaman glanced at Miranda, as if doubting her ability to survive a krogan test. _You don't know how tough that woman is._

The Shaman directed them onward and they found themselves in front of a small intercom with a glowing green light. "So I guess I just hit this?" Kamina asked.

"Do it," Grunt replied.

Kamina shrugged and tapped the green light. Then he jumped when a voice emerged. "First the krogan conquered Tuchanka...and mastered a natural world only we are fit to hold."

Nothing happened at first. Then the ground started rumbling. Kamina pulled his shotgun free and looked around. Just in time to see a monster charging toward him. Before he could even fire off a shot, the monster slammed into a biotic wall. Then fire from Grunts assault rifle sawed it in half. "Varren," Miranda muttered with disgust. "Why am I not surprised."

"I will show these beasts I am worthy!" Grunt screamed. Then he charged away.

Kamina grinned. "Well, when on Tuchanka, do as the krogan do, right?"

Miranda sighed and waved her hand in a shooing motion. "Go on. I'll wait here." Kamina did as she bid and ran in the opposite direction of Grunt. Truthfully, the varren weren't all that fun to fight. It only took one or two shots to put one down and they were slow and predictable. Kamina mostly used the fight to work on his biotics. Namely, picking things up and throwing them. He wanted to get more accurate at that.

Before he knew it, the varren were all dead. He met Grunt back at the keystone. The krogan didn't even look like he'd been in a fight. Neither did Miranda, who only had a single varren corpse next to her. Riddled with bullets from her machine gun. Kamina stepped up to the keystone and hit the green light again. The same voice emerged, this time saying, "Then the krogan were lifted into the stars to destroy the fears of a galaxy, an enemy only we could chase to their lair."

"Oh, you cannot be serious," Miranda moaned.

"What you mean?" Kamina asked excitedly. "What's coming?"

His question was answered a second later when a giant insect landed a little way away and started disgorging small red bugs the size of dogs. "Klixen," Grunt growled.

"Oh thank god." Miranda slumped in relief. "For a moment I thought you psychopathic krogan had gotten your hands on some rachni."

Grunt gave her a hard look but she didn't even seem to notice. "What's a rachni?" Kamina asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about. Now go on. Kill those nasty things before they can get up here."

Kamina was already bounding away before she could finish speaking. He leapt high in the air with a biotic boost and came down hard on the first klixen, smashing it flat. A moment later he was soaring back through the sky, courtesy of the klixen exploding under him. He hit the ground hard and rolled to a halt at Miranda's feet. She stared down at him with a mixture of pity and exasperation. Kamina smiled weakly. "It exploded."

"So it did." Miranda lifted her machine gun and let loose a stream of bullets without taking her eyes off Kamina. A moment later, there was an explosion. "Maybe keep your distance?" she offered.

Kamina rolled to his hands and knees and shook his head. _Being shown up by Miranda could really hurts a guy's feelings._ He popped to his feet and charged straight at the next klixen, his shotgun still firmly attached to his armor. Instead he uppercut the klixen with all his biotic strength and the thing flew high into the sky before exploding. He turned back to Miranda with a triumphant smile and would have sworn he saw her grin before she glanced away and her long black hair hid her face.

Kamina picked up the next klixen with a biotic wave and slammed it into another one, causing both of them to explode. Then he picked up two more and chucked them at a retreating harvester. They both flew true and exploded against the harvester, causing the big insect to crash to the ground. Now that he knew they exploded, Kamina had fun taking down the last few. It was a little disappointing when they were all gone. He returned to keystone where Miranda and Grunt were waiting. Grunt had a few black scorch marks on his normally pristine silver armor.

Kamina tapped the green light again. "Now all krogan bear the genophage, our reward, our curse. It is a fight where the only goal is survival!" the intercom blared out.

Miranda raised an eyebrow. "I don't like the sound of that."

The ground started shaking so much that Kamina had trouble staying on his feet. Then something reared out of the ground. Something huge. Like a giant centipede with a head teeming with tentacles. "Finally," Grunt growled. "Something worth fighting!"

"A thresher maw!? What the hell is wrong with you damn krogan!?" Miranda wailed.

The thresher maw horked up a green spray which Kamina instinctively jumped back, as did Miranda and Grunt. The green spray sizzled where it touched the ground. Kamina touched his shotgun and realized it wouldn't do him much good from this range. He had a feeling his submachine gun wouldn't be that useful either. He glanced at Grunt and an idea hit him. He grinned and pointed at the thresher maw. "Are you ready to fly, Grunt?"

The big krogan blinked slowly and then let out a low chuckle. "I like it."

"Oh my god. What do you think you are doing, you morons?" Miranda asked.

"What does it look like?" Kamina asked with a laugh. "Abandoning reason to make the impossible possible. Because that…" Kamina scooped up Grunt in a biotic field and flung him as hard as he could. "...is how we roll!"

The krogan sailed through the air and landed on top of the thresher maw. He grabbed a tentacle with one hand, pressed his assault rifle up against the head and started firing. Kamina could hear him roaring. The thresher maw jerked, swinging Grunt off but before Kamina could even react, Miranda was using a biotic field to push him back on top of the head. "You two are so dumb," she muttered. Kamina got the feeling she wasn't as pissed as she was letting on, though.

Grunt was still pouring fire into the head of the thresher maw and Kamina was starting to wonder how much it could take. Then it ducked back into the hole that it had emerged from. "Grunt!" Miranda shrieked. _No!_ Kamina was about to run toward the hole when Miranda shouted again. "There!" Kamina spun around and saw that the thresher maw had emerged from underground in a different spot. Improbably, Grunt was holding onto one of the tentacles and continuing to fire. The thresher maw was flailing wildly but Grunt held his gun steady. Then the thresher maw gave a last shudder and fell. Grunt leapt free and rolled away just before it hit the ground. Grunt came to his feet and smiled, gun on his shoulder and thresher maw dead behind him. Kamina snapped on his sunglasses to hide the tears in his eyes. _Damn that's manly._

Almost as if on cue, a ship sailed over them and dropped down between them and their ride out of here. "Oh, what fresh hell is this?" Miranda grumbled as they made their way to where the ship came down.

Uvenk was waiting for them, standing on a fallen concrete pillar as if it were a pulpit. "You live and you brought down the thresher maw," he said, pacing back and forth. "No one has done that in generations. Urdnot Wrex was the last."

"Which must mean you didn't manage it," Kamina said snidely. Grunt grunted.

Uvenk ignored him and hopped down from the pillar. "This will cause discussion. I wonder...you say you are pure? No alien meddling in your construction? Just the warlord Okeer?"

"Spit out what you want, krogan," Miranda snapped.

Uvenk shot her a glare but Miranda didn't even flinch. Uvenk looked away first. "Grunt, you are powerful. You are a mistake but your potential could tip the current balance of the clans."

"You want something unnatural like me in your clan?" Grunt asked.

"With restrictions. You couldn't breed of course. Or serve on alien ships. But you'd be clan in name."

"Oh, golly," Miranda said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, he'd get to be clan whatever-the-fuck in name? That's such a better offer than actually getting to be a full member of Urdnot, the dominant clan." Her voice switched back to its usual, acidic tone. "What a ridiculous offer. Tell me, did some thresher maw acid eat part of your brain during your rite of passage?"

"One more word, human, and I will end you and your entire line!"

"Nobody insults my krantt," Grunt growled stepping forward. "These two humans are more krogan than you are Uvenk!"

"You head is valuable whether you are dead or alive!"

"Try and take it!" Grunt snarled, pulling his assault rifle free. Before he could shoot however, a rocket from one of Uvenk's underlings smashed into the ground between Grunt and Uvenk. It exploded and the smoke provided cover for Uvenk to run back to his companions. With a bone-rattling war cry, Grunt charged after him.

"Why can't I go anywhere with you without getting into a fight?" Miranda sighed.

"To be fair, it wasn't me who asked if he was brain damaged." Miranda moved her head back and forth as if she didn't entirely disagree with his sentiment. Kamina laughed and sprinted after Grunt.

The krogan had grabbed one of Uvenk's underlings and was pressing forward, using the poor krogan as a shield against the fire coming his way from the rest. None of them was paying even a little attention to Kamina. He noticed one lining up a rocket launcher toward Grunt and decided that was his target. Kamina ran forward and punched the krogan right in the mouth. It was like punching a rock. Kamina grabbed his wrist with one hand and hunched over. "It hurts!" The krogan smiled smugly. Kamina returned it. "Just kidding." He whipped around in a biotically-charged roundhouse kick that sent the krogan bouncing across the pavement. Kamina lowered his leg gingerly. _I think I twisted my ankle._

Another of the krogan finally noticed him and brought his rifle around to bear. Kamina was about to dive out of the way but before he could, the krogan shot high up into the air. Then he fell. Kamina recoiled when the krogan slammed into the ground in front of him with a splat. "Why must you always fight in such a self-destructive way?" Miranda asked.

Kamina brushed his hair back and smirked. "It's just the way I like to do things."

Instead of being annoyed or dismissive like he expected, Miranda frowned with real worry. "Just make sure that there is a purpose to your aggression. No one benefits if you get yourself killed out of stubborn recklessness."

Kamina huffed and turned away. "I do things the way I do them."

Grunt was mopping up. Only Uvenk was left standing. The older krogan tried to slow down Grunt with a biotic field but the battle-crazed krogan somehow just ripped right through it. He leveled his giant shotgun at Uvenk with one hand and pulled the trigger. Kamina flinched and closed one eye. That had been a little gory, even for him. Grunt just put his gun on his shoulder and chuckled. "So much for Uvenk. Let's get out of here."

They met the Shaman back at the tank and he smiled widely, apparently unconcerned with the massacre that had just taken place. _Krogan sure are interesting._

"You have passed the rite of passage," the Shaman said. "Earning the honor of clan and name." Grunt, to Kamina's massive surprise, went down to his knees in front of the shaman. _I never thought Grunt would bow to anybody_. Kamina gave a fleeting thought to whether he should bow but noticed that Miranda was still standing, her arms folded underneath her breasts. _Yeah, I'm not bowing._ "Many survive," the Shaman continued." but it has been years since a thresher maw fell! Your names shall live in glory." Kamina puffed out his chest in pride. "Grunt, you are Urdnot. You may now own property, join the army and apply to serve under a battlemaster."

Grunt turned one of his big blue eyes toward Kamina. "Shepard is our battlemaster!" Kamina said, stepping forward and slapping Grunt hard on the hump. "Nobody better!"

"Understood. Nobody will dare second guess a krogan and a krantt able to take down a thresher maw-and with such style! You may serve this human battlemaster."

Grunt nodded and they all entered the tank to return to Wrex's camp.

 **Part 2**

Shepard glanced down at Illium as the landing vehicle dropped in. It was an impressive site. A city world, lit up and glowing as far as the eye could see. After reading about the planet, she'd learned it was a colony managed by corporate interests and outside of normal asari law. Most of the travel advisories stressed thoroughly reading every document before signing anything, which made Shepard concerned. She would bet the lawyers on Illium were skilled at tricking lay people into signing things against their own well-being no matter how thoroughly the person read it. It reminded her of Noveria, which meant there would be less respect for her Spectre status than normal. Shepard didn't really mind. She was hoping to get in and out without using her Spectre status at all.

The drop ship settled down and lights came on to tell the passengers they could unfasten their safety belts and get up. Shepard wasn't used to traveling on public transport but she'd sent the _Normandy_ to Tuchanka with Kamina and Grunt. Part of her was worried the Illusive Man would have eyes on her no matter what she did but she want to keep Liara off his radar if at all possible. That was why she had sent Miranda, and perhaps more importantly, EDI, off with Kamina.

 _Damn I don't miss traveling this way though,_ Shepard thought as she wrestled her bag out of the compartment under her seat and slowly shuffled out of the ship. Since she was traveling like a civilian, Shepard was wearing her civvies. A dark blue hoodie and black trousers along with some makeup over the scar around her eye. She didn't want to freak anyone out after all. Garrus was already waiting outside when she escaped the stifling confines of the ship. Even in civilian clothes, he was clearly military. _Now that I think about it, have I ever seen a turian look casual?_ His scar was still visible as he'd categorically refused to allow Leeron to put some makeup over it.

Viral was the last one out. He was in a red button-down and white slacks. The eyes they'd hidden with mirrored sunglasses and the hands with black gloves. The gloves didn't hide the fact that his hands were uncommonly large but at least it hid the bestial nature of them. Shepard hadn't been able to come up with anything to do about the teeth so she'd suggested that Viral just keep his mouth closed. She'd received a very amused smirk in return. Close-mouthed, of course.

Viral jogged over to them and snarled. "That was intolerable."

"Well, you made it," Shepard said unsympathetically. "Come on." Shepard led them out of the bay and through the security checkpoints. It was no problem since Ouroboros had created fake identities for herself, Viral and Garrus. She was sure using them would alert the organization's information network but that couldn't be helped. The Illusive Man already knew she was headed to Illium after this 'Thane Krios.'

Once they were on the streets of Illium, the threesome made their way to the hotel they had a reservation at. As they walked, Shepard was stunned to see that there were no signs of poverty. That was unthinkable in such a huge city. Since she wasn't one to be optimistic, Shepard assumed it was because the government of Illium didn't allow it. _Forced labor? Or maybe they just dump their poor on other worlds?_ It made her angry to think about. This was the sort of thing she thought she would be investigating when she first had aspirations of becoming a Spectre. But the threat of the reapers obviously superseded everything else. _Little evils pile up because the Council and the Spectres can't be bothered._

Shepard shook it off and entered the lobby of the hotel. An asari receptionist was waiting. "I have a reservation at this hotel," Shepard said without preamble.

"Yes, of course," the receptionist said pleasantly. A little scanner flicked over Shepard. "...Miss Hale." The asari glanced at the screen and then her eyes flicked between Shepard, Garrus and Viral. "...And it was only for one room. Correct?"

"That's right." Shepard put her arm on the counter and leaned forward with a cool smile. "Is that alright?"

"Of course," the asari said quickly. "Your room is number two twelve. Upstairs and to the right. Your omnitool should open it."

"Thanks." When Shepard turned away, she saw a look of disgust on the asari's face. She debated turning back around before just letting it go. Shepard jogged up the stairs and found their room. It really was pretty cramped. _Oh, well. If we're lucky, we can get this done in one day anyway._ "Okay," she said, addressing Viral and Garrus. "As planned, we're going to split up. Garrus, go and see if you can get any information on Thane or this Morinth that he is apparently targeting." The dossier hadn't said much about the asari that Thane was after, only that she was a fugitive in asari space. That was a relief to Shepard. If they were going to have an assassin on the team, at least it was one that hunted bad guys. "Viral, you go with him. I'm going to follow up on some leads of my own." Garrus gave a nod and Viral shrugged. "Be careful. Remember, we're civilians right now. Don't get arrested and try not to get into any fights." That prompted Viral to smile, which worried Shepard. She'd brought him along because, with Garrus and her weaponless and armorless, she had thought it would be a good idea to have some backup from a person who needed neither. Now she was starting to wonder if she had made a mistake.

"You be careful too," Garrus said. The turian rogue was the only individual she'd confided in about Liara so he knew the investigation of Thane was on his shoulders. Shepard wasn't remotely worried about that. Garrus was as capable a person as she'd ever met. It was crazy to her that the Council hadn't pulled out all the stops to make him a Spectre. Shepard gave him a confidant nod.

They exited the hotel and went their separate ways. Shepard used caught a taxi and instructed the krogan behind the wheel to take her to Dilinaga University. She thought that taxi driver was a funny job for a krogan until they entered the main part of the city. Traffic on Illium was a war. _Why is there no safety belt?!_ By the time they got to the University, Shepard felt battered worse than after her fight with Saren. When she complained to the krogan driver, she received only a chuckle in return.

Shepard shook her head and turned to the University. It was a sprawling complex of a few dozen buildings. Dilinaga was supposed to be the second most prestigious university on Illium and one of the best asari schools period. _Seems like Liara hasn't done too badly for herself._ Shepard glanced around. _But how am I supposed to find her?_ It was the middle of the day so there was a reasonable expectation that Liara was teaching right now but Shepard had no clue which building she might be in. She gazed at the large rose-colored building she'd been dropped off in front of. _Well, I suppose the driver would have dropped me off in front of the administration building._

Shepard walked inside and was relieved to immediately spot a giant map of the campus. She briskly walked over to it. There were a few asari in the building eyeing her but Shepard knew how to look confident and like she belonged. It was a necessary skill for any Spectre. Using her omnitool to translate, Shepard figured out where she was and then learned the map wouldn't be as helpful as she thought. All the buildings were named after asari rather than what disciplines they taught. _Hmm._ Shepard did a quick extranet search told her which building usually held history classes. _The Helirix Building. Alright._ Shepard left the building and swiftly made her way through the campus, having already committed the layout to memory. She passed by several asari but no other species. _Interesting. I wonder if non-asari are allowed to study here._

Shepard found the Helirix Building, a little two-story building that seemed kind of dingy. Shepard rubbed her chin. _I wonder when asari consider something history._ For humans, it was usually a decade or two. Would the asari equivalent be a century or two? Shepard laughed. _That's hard to wrap my head around._ It would mean that every moment that humans had been part of the galactic was considered a current event. _Shit...that actually kind of explains asari attitudes. And the attitudes of the other council species. Like Germany in the nineteenth century. We're new, brash, powerful, arrogant and dangerous._ It didn't make Shepard feel sympathetic. _The old powers always try to knock out the new when they become a threat._ It was foolish ego-salving as far as she was concerned. Especially now. The universe needed every species to be as powerful as it could be when the reapers arrived.

Shepard jogged up the steps and into the building. There was no way to tell which classroom Liara might be using but the doors of the classrooms not in use were all open and there were little bubble windows on the doors of the classrooms in use. Shepard quickly peered into each window and on the forth she hit paydirt. Teaching a small class of only ten students was Liara. Shepard stared at her and was relieved to see that she hadn't changed a bit. _Makes sense. Two years is nothing to an asari._ Shepard hoped that truth was mental as well as physical. To Shepard, after all, it had only been a few weeks since she last saw Liara. _Feels like more. Was it more?_ Shepard had been having a hard time paying attention how much time was passing because she never seemed to have a moment to rest.

Liara was gesturing toward a hologram of a prothean hand. "...thorough that we can conclude that protheans must have had an ability to use to touch...to…" Liara trailed off and her hand dropped to her side as she locked eyes with Shepard.

 _Damn!_ Shepard had been staring through the window without thinking about it. She ducked out of the way. _Sorry, Liara. I didn't mean to interrupt your class._

"Is everything alright, Liara?" one of the students asked. _Liara? Do most students address their teachers by their first name or is it because Liara is so young._ Shepard didn't like it.

"Yes...I...I'm sorry. I'm afraid I will have to cut class short today. My apologies."

"We still have twenty minutes left!" Another student protested. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"It's fine. We will pick this up next week. Please review your...book…" she continued, obviously distracted. Her students took the cue though and Shepard heard scraping and chatter as they got out of their seats. Shepard slipped into an empty classroom next door and waited until she could hear them fade out of earshot. Then she poked her head around the corner. Liara was in the doorway of her classroom. She jumped when she saw Shepard. "By the goddess," she said, placing a hand on her chest. "It truly is you...Shepard."

Shepard put a hand behind her head. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your class."

"Oh, that's alright," Liara responded. Shepard racked her brain for what to say next. _This is awkward. Why is this so awkward?_ She glanced at Liara's face. _I want to hug her._ But something was holding her back. Before she could make up her mind, Liara gestured toward the classroom. "Would you like to sit down?" she touched her head. "I certainly need to."

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, just…" Liara wandered back into her classroom and sat herself at her desk. "...I can't believe you are here. After what happened on the _Normandy…_ " Shepard sat down in the student chair closest to the desk. "We couldn't even find your body. Some held onto that as hope but I researched how much oxygen deprivation a human body can withstand. Not to mention the cold…" Shepard shivered. She didn't like to think about what had happened. "Is it really you?"

"As far as I can tell," Shepard said. "To me, all of that just happened. I've been in a medical coma for two years while my body was being rebuilt."

"Rebuilt?" Liara repeated. "By Ouroboros?" she asked softly.

Shepard's eyebrows rose. "How did you know that?"

"So it was them!" Liara shouted, slamming her hand on the desk. She winced and moved her hands to her lap. "I was desperate to find your body. Some leads suggested that Ouroboros had snatched your body before the Alliance could recover it. I've been trying to look into them but I haven't been getting anywhere. All my sources have dried up lately."

"Yeah, the Illusive Man seems like he'd be pretty ruthless about that kind of thing. It might be better that you never learned anything serious about them." Liara looked concerned so Shepard quickly added, "But listen. They did rebuild me and, as far as I can tell, didn't change me at all. The Illusive Man believes the reapers are coming and is also fighting against them."

"Well, that's good, I suppose," Liara said, glancing down at her lap. After that, an awkward silence stretched. _What is she thinking?_ Shepard tried to think of something to say but nothing was coming easy. There was too much she wanted to say but she wasn't sure where to begin.

Then Garrus spoke into her ear. "Shepard, I've just spoken to my contact here. Things are already crazy, as usual. Thane found Morinth just before we arrived and is apparently fighting her and a bunch of Eclipse mercenaries in some warehouse the Eclipse use to store weapons and red sand."

"You're kidding me. They're still fighting? What are the police doing?"

"It's Eclipse property and they have a deal with the police. The warehouse is cordoned off but they're not interfering." _Damn. I thought that drell was supposed to be an assassin, not a brawler. Still, he must be good to last so long._ "Another wrench," Garrus continued. "Apparently, something called a 'justicar' stormed the place as soon as she caught wind of what was going on. My contact says she was also after Morinth but probably not on Thane's side."

"Perfection." _Why is nothing simple?_ The coldly rational part of Shepard's brain was telling her to wait and see if Thane came out of this and then recruit him. Yet her body was already standing and her mouth was already asking Liara, "Do you have a car?"

"Why, yes. But what is going on, Shepard?" Liara asked, also getting to her feet.

"Garrus, I'll meet you there."

"Understood."

"I need to borrow your car, Liara."

"What is going on?" Liara repeated.

"I had a second reason for coming to Illium," Shepard said quickly. "I'm trying to put together a team to help me shut down the collectors. Garrus just found one of them and he is caught up in a fight. I need to make sure he survives."

"Let me come with you," Liara said without hesitation.

"Are you sure? It's going to be a nasty fight by the sound of it."

Liara gave a small smile that made Shepard's heart skip a beat. "I think I've proven that I can hold my own in a fight."

Shepard laughed. "So you have. I just didn't want you to get mixed up in this if you didn't have to…"

"If you are mixed up in it, Shepard, so am I."

That took Shepard aback a little. "Thank you," she said softly. Then she rolled her shoulders and shook her head slightly. "We better get going."

"Right." Liara nodded and set off. She was wearing a long dress but set a fast pace through the campus and to the parking garage. Her car was blue and compact. They got in and Liara took off. "Where are we going?"

Shepard brought up her omnitool. "These are the coordinates that Garrus gave me."

"Got it." Liara flipped the car around and blasted off. Shepard was impressed at smoothly she navigated the traffic on Illium. They landed in a small empty lot. Garrus, Viral and an asari that must have been Garrus' contact were waiting.

"Shepard," Garrus said. "I see you found Liara."

"It's wonderful to see you again, Garrus," Liara said with a warm smile.

Garrus coughed the way he did when he was embarrassed. "This is my old friend Asiyda D'riani, formerly of C-sec, now with the Illium Metropolitan Police."

Asiyda stepped forward to shake Shepard's hand. "Garrus says that you're _the_ Shepard. First human Spectre? The savior of the Citadel?"

"As far as I know."

Asiyda pumped her hand a few extra times. "It's an honor to meet you, Commander. I was on the Citadel when Saren attacked. Without you, I'm certain I would've died."

Shepard got a little sick to her stomach. She was never sure how to react in these situations. Her natural reaction was to be humble and downplay it but some people took that the wrong way. She settled for saying. "Glad to meet you too, Asiyda. Any friend of Garrus is a friend of mine." A smile lit up Asiyda's features. Shepard gently extracted her hand and said, "So do we have a plan?"

"Well, I can get you in there," Asiyda said, "but that's about the extent of it. The higher-ups have forbidden us from interfering. They even wanted us to stop the justicar from going in but none of us were crazy enough to try that."

"Garrus mentioned something about her. What is a justicar?"

Asiyda scratched her cheek. "It's kind of hard to explain. They are individuals who have dedicated their life to justice. While they have no official place in law enforcement, asari all respect them and will normally cooperate with them. Their training is more extreme than any government agency could get away with so the ones that come out are nasty fighters. And ruthless. There is no forgiveness or mercy in their code."

Shepard considered all that. _Sounds like a force for good that could run amuck if the individual lacks extraordinary self-discipline. Kind of like a Spectre, I suppose._ "And you're certain this justicar is going after Morinth?"

Asiyda nodded. "Oh yeah. Samara harassed all of us about Morinth from the time she got here. She is obsessed with that... _thing._ "

" _Thing?_ " Shepard repeated.

"Morinth is an Ardat-Yakshi," Asiyda said with a shiver. "At least according to Samara."

Shepard wanted to ask more about what an 'Ardat-Yakshi' was but she was already feeling anxious about how long they'd been standing here.

"We should get going," Shepard said. "You can tell me more about Morinth on the way."

"Of course," Asiyda said. She pointed at her car. "So...how do we want to do this?" They eventually settled on Asiyda driving with Garrus sitting shotgun as he was biggest. In the back, Shepard sat in the middle with Viral on her left and Liara on her right. It was a little beneath her dignity as a Spectre but objectively the best seating arrangement.

Once they were all in, Shepard noticed that Liara was shooting quick but consistent looks at Viral. So she introduced them. "Liara, this is Viral. He is working with me on finding the collectors. Viral, this is my old friend Liara T'soni."

Viral glanced at her but didn't say anything. Liara stared at him and finally just blurted out, "What _are_ you?"

It was hard to tell where he was looking because he still had the sunglasses on but Shepard had the feeling Viral was giving Liara a nasty side-eye. "I'm me," was his only response.

"Well, of course," Liara retorted, "but what manner of creature are you? If you're human, you've clearly undergone some extensive-"

"Liara," Shepard interrupted. "Not now." _How did she notice Viral wasn't human without even seeing his eyes, teeth or hands?_

"But Shepard…"

"Another time, Liara, I promise." Before Liara even had a chance to argue, Shepard leaned forward and said, "So tell me more about the Ardat-Yakshi."

A look of distaste washed over Asiyda. "I'm not surprised you haven't heard of them. Asari don't like to talk about it but...are you familiar at all with how asari mate?"

Shepard smirked and said, "I have some idea." She took a quick glance back at Liara, who was mortified, and had to suppress a laugh.

Asiyda didn't seem to notice. "Well, there are some-a very, very small percentage-of mutant asari that destroy their partner's mind when they mate with them. At best they turn them into vegetables but most of the time they kill them. Morinth is someone who decided to keep on mating even though she kills all her mates. According to Samara, she has been doing this for centuries."

All the humor drained out of Shepard. "So she is a serial killer."

Asiyda nodded. "I think that would be an accurate description." They rode in silence the rest of the way. Asiyda dropped them off on the roof of the warehouse and then suddenly seemed concerned. "Will you be alright? None of you have any armor or guns."

Shepard waved her away. "We've been in worse spots."

Asiyda looked so impressed by that response that it made Shepard slightly uncomfortable. "Okay! It was an honor to meet you, Commander! Garrus, don't leave without telling me all about what happened!" With that, she turned her car around and jetted away.

Shepard took a breath and changed gears. She took in the warehouse. It was much bigger than she had imagined, with several interconnected buildings. _More like a warehouse complex._ She couldn't even see the end of it from where she was standing. The only exit to the roof they were on was a small utility hatch. It was locked but easy enough to hack through. A latter led downward. Shepard slid down and landed on the scaffolding that wound its way around the top of the building. She made her way to the edge of the scaffolding and looked around. It really was a warehouse. Just cases upon cases stacked on top of each other, some as big as a bus. _What are the Eclipse keeping in here? Must be more than just drugs and weapons._ Illium had to be a major center for Eclipse smuggling.

Shepard also spotted to mercs down patrolling warehouse. Well, that was probably their actual duty. What they were really doing was standing in the middle of the warehouse, likely taking to each other. _The fighting must be going on in a different part of the building. Lucky._ She glanced back at her three companions and whispered, "Viral, you come with me. Liara, if either of those guards spots us, use your biotics to keep them off balance. Garrus, help her keep watch and...keep her safe."

Garrus nodded but Liara spoke up. "I don't need a minder-!"

Shepard put a finger to her lips and nodded in the direction of the guards. Liara bit back her words but was clearly disgruntled. Shepard didn't change her orders. Liara knew how to fight but she had still been a teacher for the last year at least. "Come on," she said softly to Viral. They descended the next latter. Shepard winced every time she made even a little sound. Viral, eerily, was completely silent. _How does he do that?_ Shepard was an N7 graduate who had achieved rare marks in stealth. Yet even she couldn't hit every rung of the latter noiselessly. _Maybe it's just all this cyber-crap that Ouroboros used to revive my body,_ she soothed herself.

They hit the floor. Shepard swallowed her pride and signaled for Viral to circle around, the more arduous task. Surprisingly, he understood her hand signal immediately. _Did he study up on Alliance Marines?_ Shepard shook her head. _More likely he just has enough experience to guess what I wanted._ Shepard wound her way through the cramped passways through the crates until she was a short sprint away from the two conversing soldiers. Then she started a countdown in her head, estimating how long it would take Viral to get into position. While she waited, she also considered the best way to take down a person in full armor.

When her count ended, Shepard burst from the cover. She accelerated to full speed which was considerably faster than she remembered it being. Viral was coming just as hard from the other side. Neither of the guards had time to react, especially since they would have to readjust their positions or risk shooting each other. Shepard was on her merc so fast that her plans went out the window and she just straight-up shoulder-checked her. It hurt but it didn't break any of Shepard's bones like it probably should have. The merc careened to the floor and Shepard followed. She ripped off the asari's helmet and then smashed her in the face with it. The merc slumped and stopped moving.

Shepard quickly looked toward Viral but saw that he had snapped the other merc's neck with a minimum of fuss. She let out a long breath, glanced up to where Liara and Garrus waited and waved them down. Then she used the helmet to hack into the communication network of the Eclipse mercenaries and was rewarded right away. "What is taking so long?!" a female voice screamed over the com.

"The drell is like a damn ghost!" another female voice responded. "He just took out Niass and her squad but was gone by the time I got there. I'm trying to flush him out somewhere where I can corner him but it is taking time."

"Forget about that for now," the first voice spat. "The bitch just tore through the mechs and those _morons_ you left to back them up. She's coming and the idiots you left with me won't last five seconds against her." The voice was raising with panic. Based on the context, Shepard was guessing it was Morinth. _She's that scared of Samara, huh?_ "Get back here and help me put her down, then together we can hunt down that drell rat."

There was a long silence and then a sigh. "Fine. We're coming back." There was click as the channel changed and Shepard hurriedly flipped around until she heard, "Repeat, everyone return to navpoint alpha. This overrides all previous orders." A little bit of digging and Shepard found 'navpoint alpha.' _Well, that was easy._ Sometimes Shepard wondered if her greatest skill was being in the right place at the right time. She searched the merc she'd knocked out and found a Predator pistol and Katana shotgun. _Cheap shit,_ Shepard thought sourly though she knew it was decent enough for mercenary work.

She stood up and saw that, unsurprisingly, it was Garrus searching the other merc rather than Viral. He came up with a Vindicator assault rifle and another Predator. "Not the worst haul," Garrus said, checking the Vindicator over. He tossed the pistol to Liara who bobbled it around before catching it.

"Want a shotgun?" Shepard asked Viral. He waved it away and Shepard thought she heard him mutter something about it being too small. _True, something designed for human or asari hands would be small in those weirdly huge mitts. Maybe I should look at getting him something modified for krogan..._ Shepard dropped the shotgun. She wasn't a big fan of them. _Too bad neither of these jokers had a sniper rifle._ "Alright, I've identified where Samara, Morinth, Thane and the rest of these fools seem to be coming together for a final battle. Keep your eyes peeled for a drell skulking around. Don't forget that extracting him from here alive is our first priority." _Though, from the sounds of things, he is handling himself just fine._ "I'll take point. Garrus, you watch our backs. Let's move."

They hustled through the warehouse complex. Where they were was about as far from the action as possible. Which explained the relative lack of mercs but made Shepard anxious to get to where the fighting was. Luckily, nothing got in their way, confirming that the Eclipse really had pulled into one place. Shepard held out her hand when they got close to the navpoint and she could hear a firefight up ahead. They were in a short connecting hallway with only one entrance to the next warehouse. It made her nervous to know there was only one way in or out. _If they're already fighting Samara and possibly Thane, will they still have the entrance covered?_ Even though it felt like something of a dick move, she waved Viral to her. He was, after all, the only one who could survive getting shot up. "Head through the door and wave us through if it's clear."

Viral nodded easily and then burst forward, running low to the ground and looking even more like and animal than he normally did. Shepard didn't register anything amiss when he went through the door and he swiftly came back into the doorway and waved for them to come on. Shepard raced forward. As soon as she was the door, she rolled for cover behind a large crate. Once Garrus and Liara had joined her, she poked her head up and took in the situation. Eclipse mercenaries were all over the place. Perhaps two dozen of them. Rushing around so fast that she seemed to blink in and out of existence was an asari in red armor. She was executing vanguard tactics against overwhelming odds. Never stop moving, protect yourself with a biotic shield, destabilize your opponents with waves and gun down any vulnerable opponent. _Only she is doing it about a thousand times better than any vanguard I've ever seen in action._

A quick look around didn't turn up any evidence of Thane. It seemed like all of the Eclipse were focused on Samara. _They haven't even noticed us yet. So which one is Morinth?_ Even as she thought the question, Shepard saw an asari that had to be. She was dressed in black armor, rather than the Eclipse colors. Her eyes never left Samara and Shepard could feel a sense of _wrongness_ coming off her. Next to her was another asari in purple armor who was shouting commands at the Eclipse soldiers. _That would be the captain then._ A plan started to form in Shepard's mind before it was scuttled by the asari in black.

Clearly having been watching intently for her chance, Morinth thrust out a hand and the biotic shockwave she unleashed smashed into Samara just as she was pivoting. It knocked her off-balance, halting her for a few moments. The Eclipse didn't miss their chance, swinging their weapons in line to tear through her before she could recover. "Shit! Liara!" Shepard shouted, standing up. She triggered a volley from her pistol as soon she cleared the crate. With her new strength, her accuracy was even better than it had been. Every bullet would have smashed into Morinth's face if she hadn't thrown up a shield to protect herself. At the same time, Liara deployed a shield that sucked up the bullets of the other Eclipse for a few precious seconds until Samara regained her footing and warped out of the firezone.

Shepard ducked back down as the Eclipse leader screamed for some of the mercs to redirect their fire. "Damn," Shepard muttered. _One time I try to go someplace without full armor._

"Liara," Garrus said. "See there are three clustered at two o'clock. Think you can tag them with a singularity?"

"No problem."

Shepard left them to it and charged up a fireball with her omnitool. She leaned out from the crate and fired it off. The merc she targeted lit up like a torch and started screaming and running in circles. Shepard quickly ducked back. _That ought to provide a nice distraction._ She stared up at the ceiling, wondering what to try next. She started when she saw something scuttling across the ceiling. _Holy hell, is that Thane?_ Had to be. He was wearing dark clothing but there was no mistaking that it was a drell. Shepard smiled. _He's got guts._

Shepard watched him cross the ceiling and then start down the wall behind Morinth and the Eclipse leader. She peeked out from around her crate and saw him drop silently behind them. He then confidently stepped forward and smoothly snapped the neck of the asari leader. Morinth jumped back and hit him with a wave that threw Thane away. Too late to save the Eclipse leader, though, so too late to save the Eclipse. "Liara, cover us!" She stood up with Garrus then both started firing. Liara threw up a shield to deflect the few shots that came their way. Samara shot back out and started rapidly ending soldiers. Viral, who Shepard had lost track of earlier, did much the same.

Soon, all of the Eclipse were down. That left Morinth alone. Shepard and Garrus trained their guns on her but Samara flung up a hand, "Hold!" Samara. "Please." Samara threw aside her gun and stalked toward Morinth. "Let us end this."

"You bitch!" Morinth cried. "Why won't you leave me alone?"

"You are my responsibility." Samara lifted her fist and Shepard saw that it was charged with biotic energy. Morinth screamed in frustration and attacked her. Her strikes were savage and powerful but it was quickly apparent who would win. Samara's technique was flawless and she was cold as ice against the palpable rage coming off of Morinth. The Ardat-Yakshi over-swung once that was it. Samara's cross-counter nailed her directly in the face and even Shepard, who still saw an entire race get murdered when she slept sometimes, winced at the sound of it. Morinth tumbled back and Shepard knew she would never get back up.

Samara slowly drew back her fist and stood stock still, staring at Morinth. Shepard was unsure of how to break the silence but then she saw Thane starting to edge backward. "Hold up, Thane," she said. "I came here to talk to you." Thane looked at her but she found it impossible to discern what was going on behind his black eyes. Then he nodded in silent acquiesce and she relaxed. When Shepard turned back, she found Samara's gaze on her. Her blue eyes were as inscrutable as Thane's. Shepard decided to introduce herself. "Samara, my name is Shepard-"

Samara turned around and interrupted her. "Yes, I know. Commander Shepard, first human Specter." A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips. "I daresay there are relatively few in Citadel space that don't know you on sight, Shepard."

Shepard frowned. She glanced at Garrus for confirmation. The turian shrugged. "You were all over the news after you stopped Saren and the geth. You the first human who achieved anything of galactic importance, which means you were the first human that mattered to regular people."

"You've become something of an avatar of humanity," Liara picked up. "To a lot of people, you represent what humans are. Both the good and the ill."

"Ill?" Shepard asked. Liara looked a little uncomfortable, so Shepard turned to Garrus. "Ill?"

It was Samara that answered. "Saving the Citadel took ingenuity and intrepidness," she said. "Yet letting the Council die so you could take out that dreadnaught showed ruthlessness and, to some, recklessness."

"And taking advantage of the crisis to put a human on the Council showed the ambition human have. Ambition that makes some nervous," Liara put in.

" _Taking advantage_?!" Shepard snapped. "We needed Anderson on that Council. I needed somebody who would listen to me!"

Liara held up her hands. "I'm not trying to blame you. I agree that a human belongs on the Council but a lot of beings haven't had the same experiences with humans that I have. They are...wary."

Shepard bit back her arguments. It wouldn't help. She was both surprised and unsurprised to find that asari and turians and salarians and all the rest had only grown more afraid of humans after she'd saved them. The funny thing was, it was human nature. They all liked to pretend they were beyond humans but they turned around and acted the very way they condemned humans for acting. _I guess this also means my stealth play was probably futile..._ She shook her head and turned back to Samara. "Well, all that is neither here nor there right now. What I want to know, Samara, is are you doing anything later? Would you be able to meet somewhere to talk?"

Samara blinked in surprise. After a moment, she said, "There is a bar owned by an old friend of mine. It is known as Blue Moon. I'll be drinking there tonight. I would not mind sharing a drink with the Savior of the Citadel."

Shepard smiled brightly. "Glad to hear it." Samara smiled back but it was brief. Her face turned to stone again and she walked over to the corpse of Morinth and sat down next to it. _Strange._ Shepard had killed a lot of criminals and rarely given the corpse a second thought. _I haven't chased one for four centuries either..._ To her even greater surprise, Liara walked over and sat down next to Samara. Liara leaned over and whispered something softly. Samara nodded silently and Liara took her hand. Together, they gazed at the corpse. _Must be an asari thing._

Shepard walked to Thane who was waiting patiently, hands behind his back in parade rest. "Thane," Shepard began. "I came here to find you."

"So I've gathered," Thane said with a nod.

"Well, I'll just cut to it then. I want you to work with me. Everything I've read about you and seen here paints you as a top-notch assassin. I need your skills."

Thane blinked and Shepard thought he was probably weighing his next words carefully. "I am no longer an assassin for hire."

Shepard cocked her head. "What about Morinth?"

"I was asked to kill her by the parents of one of her victims but I wasn't paid."

Shepard narrowed her eyes. "What, are you trying to atone for your past deeds by using your abilities to kill evil people?"

If he was upset by her bluntness, he showed no signs. "Something like that."

Shepard smiled. "Well, then we might be in business. I don't need you to assassinate anyone. I need you because I'm putting together an elite team. Human colonists-as in entire colonies-are getting abducted by a race called the collectors. I'm going to shut them down but I need the best around me when I hit them. That's why I need you. If you really are trying to do good now, this will save several times more people than you could possibly do on your own."

"The collectors...I've heard of them." He nodded. "Very well, I will work with you, Shepard. This was to be my last job but I don't believe I could live with myself if turned you away."

"Thank you, Thane." The smile slipped of Shepard's face. "Sorry to drag you back into the muck when you were about to leave it though. Getting tired of killing?" Shepard glanced over her shoulder at the three asari, two living and one dead. They hadn't moved. "I know I am."

"Yes, that and…" Thane paused and Shepard turned back to him. "I suppose I should tell you. I'm dying."

"What?" Shepard asked, shocked. Nothing in his dossier had suggesting he was sick. "What's going on?"

"Kepral's Syndrome." Thane shook his head. "It's a drell-specific disease. It's not communicable and won't interfere with my abilities. Yet, at least."

 _Kepral's Syndrome._ Shepard had never heard of it but she didn't know much about drell. "I don't want to force you to fight if you're sick," she said hesitantly.

Thane smiled softly. "Your concern is appreciated but rest isn't something that will make this better. Truth be told, I'm not looking forward to dying in a hospital…"

"...If you're sure."

He nodded decisively. "I am."

"Okay. Glad to have you with us then. Can you meet us at the spaceport early tomorrow morning? I'll contact you with the details."

"That will be fine. I have some things to finish but the rest of the day should be sufficient."

"Appreciated." Shepard looked at her companions. "I think it is about time for us to get out of here. Garrus, do you want to contact Asiyda?"

"On it."

Shepard turned to Samara and said, "I don't know if this goes against your code but I would appreciate it if you didn't mention my involvement here."

Samara nodded. "If you wish it, Shepard, I will refrain from mentioning you were here."

"Thank you. I'll see you later tonight?" Samara nodded silently. "Okay. We should go." The foursome made their way back to the warehouse where Asiyda had dropped them off and hitched a ride with her. They split up back at the empty lot, Garrus and Viral going to the hotel room and Shepard and Liara going to the asari's apartment. Shepard was surprised that Liara could afford such a nice place on a teacher's salary. She was also a little amused that the only decorations were prothean artifacts. Liara poured them both a glass of some blue liquor that Shepard didn't know the name of but liked very much.

"So, Shepard," Liara said, her tone half amused and half anxious. "Are you going to give me a recruitment pitch as well?"

Shepard took a sip of her drink. _I would love to. You have no idea how much I'd love to._ Truthfully, Shepard had always had a different plan for Liara. The asari was decent in a fight but Shepard had fighters. She needed to use somebody as smart as Liara for something else. _I thought it would break my heart to ask her but...this distance. I don't know how to close it and I don't know what she is thinking._ An immature part of Shepard had been hoping that just seeing Liara would clear all that away. In a way, though, it made what she had to ask Liara to do easier.

"Not exactly in the way you're thinking," Shepard said. "I do need you but not for this collector mission. I've got assassins and krogans to help me out with that. What I need is a way to beat the reapers altogether."

Liara stared at her for a long moment. "That is...a lot to ask, Shepard," Liara said.

 _One of the bigger understatements I've ever heard._ "Believe me, I know. But we have to be proactive on this. Ever since I learned about the reapers I have been running from one crisis to another. That's not going to keep working forever, though. If we are only reactive, I am certain we will lose. The protheans gave us the gift of forewarning. We might be the only ones ever who knew the reapers were coming before they got here and it allowed us to stop them from taking the Citadel. What else have we done with the information, though? I've lost two years and I come back to nothing. The Council is pretending the problem doesn't exist. Only Ouroboros is actively working to counter the reapers but I can't completely trust the Illusive Man. We need to figure out a strategy to counter them _before_ they are knocking on our front doorstep." Shepard stopped to catch her breath. She felt a little bad about unloading on Liara like that but her frustrations had been building up inside for a while.

"I understand what you are saying, Shepard, but I don't...I don't even know where I would begin. I've studied protheans for decades and I barely have a rudimentary grasp on them. The reapers left behind far, far less information than the protheans."

Shepard pointed at her head. "You have the memories the protheans punched into my brain." She pulled out a datapad that she'd hidden in an inner-pocket of her hoodie. She tapped a few buttons and a laser grid took a reading of Liara's face. "There, now this pad will only open if it recognizes your face or mine."

"A datapad?"

"I've recorded everything I know on it. Every prothean memory I could dredge up, every bit of information I've learned about the reapers along with every speculation and suspicion I have. Also a few suggestions for where to look for more information."

Liara picked it up. "This will be helpful…" she didn't need to add a 'but' for Shepard to hear it.

"I have something else as well." _Or should I say, someone else._ "You remember Viral."

"Yes, I was hoping to ask you more about that odd creature."

"You can ask him yourself. I'm going to assign him to be your bodyguard." Shepard was a little worried about that. Both whether Viral would accept it and whether she could trust him. Her gut was telling her that answer to the latter was 'yes,' though, and Shepard had learned to trust her instincts on people. "I'm not sure what Viral is but I know he is not human nor any of the species commonly known. I had an interesting conversation with him-the audio is on the datapad-that makes me think he knows a hell of a lot more about the reapers that he is telling me."

"Really?" Liara leaned forward, a spark in her blue eyes. "You don't know what he is but you think it may have something to do with the reapers?" Shepard nodded and, for a moment, she thought she had Liara convinced. Then the asari deflated a bit. "But, Shepard, you are much better at getting people to share things with you. I've never been gifted like that."

Shepard sighed. "I do seem to have a gift when it comes to people pouring out their deepest secrets with minor prodding but Viral hasn't spilled. He hides out on the ship and often runs off to do his own thing in battles. He might not let you know anything but just being around him more than I can be might unlock something." Liara still seemed unsure so Shepard leaned forward. "I know it's a lot and I won't blame you if you fail but...I've seen the reapers do what they do and I know, I _know_ , that if we don't figure something out, they will slaughter us all. I will not let that happen but I need information and I don't trust anyone else in the galaxy to get me that information." Shepard felt terrible about using whatever feelings Liara had left for her but what choice did she have? Liara was the best person for this, Shepard was convinced.

Liara bowed her head and said, "You are right, Shepard. I was being selfish."

Shepard wanted to put a hand over Liara's. Hell, she wanted to sweep her into her arms and hold her tight. _But should I?_ Indecision paralyzed her until the moment passed. "Thank you, Liara," she said, her voice sounding cold even to her own ears. "I knew I could count on you."

 **Author's Notes**

Whew, it's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry, my motivation to write this waxes and wanes. But I'm committed to finishing it, no matter how long it takes! This chapter was pretty Mass Effect heavy. I found Kamina and Viral a bit hard to write this time but that's inspired me to watch Gurren Lagann again. I've only just started but I've already got some cool ideas on how to improve the integration. Hopefully watching Kamina do his thing again will keep my motivation high and I'll get another chapter out soon. Thanks for reading and thanks for your patience!


	6. Chapter 6

**Because I'm Kamina-sama!**

Liara parked her aircar and took a deep breath. The meeting she'd just had with the dean of Dilinaga University had been...unpleasant. Obviously, no university was happy to see a professor go in the middle of the semester. Particularly if the departee could give no good reason why they were leaving. Liara had been tempted to just take off but that would be doing an extreme disservice to the University that had taken a chance on such a young asari. _If the universe does survive, I might have just destroyed my career._ Liara smiled bitterly. _I suppose I should focus on the 'universe surviving' part of that before I worry about what comes after._

She stepped out of the car and headed for her apartment. She was surprised and a little disturbed to see Viral sitting on his haunches outside her door. "Viral," she said, recoiling a bit. She still wasn't used to him. Particularly those predatory eyes. "I thought we weren't meeting for an hour yet." Shepard had introduced Viral to her yesterday but Liara had asked to put off beginning the mission until today so that she could take care of loose ends. Shepard had gone on her way, leaving Viral in the hotel room they had rented and with plans to meet Liara at her apartment at seventeen hundred local time.

Viral rose to his feet fluidly and Liara had to fight the desire to take a step backward. "I grew weary of the city," he said, disgust lacing his voice. "I don't like this place."

He didn't elaborate but Liara could think of several reasons not to like Illium. She wasn't exactly fond of it herself. "I see. Well, if you'll let me by, I'll let us into the apartment." Viral stepped to the side, leaving her just enough room to open the door. She quickly did and hurried inside. Viral followed at a more languid place. "Make yourself at home," she said, hoping that he wouldn't do anything weird. She went upstairs, trying to make it seem like she wasn't running away from him, and into her room. Once the door was closed, she breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the bed. _Really, Shepard, what were you thinking, saddling me with that strange man?_ Liara had read all of the notes Shepard left her last night and, like Shepard, she was sure there was some connection between Viral and the reapers. It only made her more nervous around him. What was he? What did he know? Most importantly, how long had he existed?

Liara changed her clothes, just to postpone going back down. Finally, though, it was becoming rude. _Why couldn't he just wait until the appointed time?_ She slowly made her way back downstairs. Viral was standing at the large window that made up her western wall. She couldn't tell if he was glaring at something or if that was just how he always looked. "Would...would you like something to drink?" she piped up. "I picked up some human drinks and foodstuffs last night." Even if he wasn't human, he seemed closer to their species than any other.

He glanced at her over his shoulder, one yellow eye spitting her. "Do you have coffee?"

Liara blinked. "Y-yes. I do!" She had remembered that Shepard at the other human crew of the _Normandy_ would often have the strong-smelling drink. She went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator where a couple of cans of coffee waited. She took it back to him and he plucked it from her outstretched hand with surprising delicacy. Then he casually poked a hole in the top with one claw. He took a gulp and then glanced at the can and grunted. Liara couldn't tell if it was in surprise or disappointment or what. Then he turned back to the window without further comment.

Liara was willing to treat that as a victory. She retreated to the couch and sat down. Viral didn't seem like he wanted to talk and Liara was just fine for that. For now. She waited, checking the time every so often and wondering how it was passing so slowly. Then, finally, exactly on time, her omnitool chirped to tell her someone was at the door. Liara hurried over and opened it. The Justicar Samara was on the other side. Shepard had somehow convinced her to be Liara's other bodyguard. Normally, Liara would have decried that as overkill but Shepard had confided that Samara was insurance in case her other bodyguard, Viral, did something unexpected.

"Samara," Liara said, perhaps a touch to excitedly. "Please come in."

Samara gave a ghost of a smile and swept into the room. Liara was envious of the poise in every movement Samara made. Viral gave her a glance but he turned back to the window as if her arrival were of no consequence. Samara had no discernible reaction. "Your apartment is lovely," she said.

"Oh, no," Liara demurred. "I've hardly done anything with it."

Samara stepped up to a display case near the stairs. "Is that a prothean artifact?"

"Yes," Liara said. "I found it on my first ever excavation. My sponsors were gracious enough to let me keep it. It is…" Liara was about to launch into a lecture about the artifact but she caught Viral giving them the side-eye. "Well, it's not very interesting." Samara turned back to her, her face expressionless. Liara sighed internally. _You would think I would be able to read one of my own species better but I don't understand either of these two._ "Would you like something to eat or drink?" she asked Samara.

"No, thank you," Samara said, firm but pleasant. "I keep to a specialized diet in my old age." The way she said it gave no clue to whether she was joking.

"I see," Liara said. "Well, I suppose we should get to why we're here." She gestured to the couch and Samara sat down, her posture perfect. Liara decided to remain standing. "Shepard wants us to investigate a way to stop the reapers." She let that hang in the air. Saying it aloud made it sound even more impossible.

"A vital goal," Samara said. Once more, Liara didn't know if the massive understatement was intentional. "Do you have an idea of where we might start? I no knowledge on the reapers beyond what Shepard has told me."

"I have a few ideas of where we might start to research," Liara said. "But I was hoping that you had a more concrete lead, Viral," she said, turning to him. She took a breath and steeled her nerves. "Shepard briefed me on the conversations you had and we both agree that you know more about the reapers than you've said. I'd like you to share it with me. This is no time for secrets." Liara was proud she managed to deliver her little spiel without muffing any of it.

Viral chuckled, not turning around. "Research?" he said dismissively, not answering her question. "Finding a way to beat the reapers? A waste of time." He glanced over his shoulder, a wide grin on his face. His shark-like teeth made it terrifying. "All that matters is that your will to survive is stronger than their ability to cause despair."

That left Liara speechless for a moment but she used her annoyance at his condescension to fire herself up. "What are you talking about? It can't be that easy."

"Easy?" He turned all the way around, still smirking. "Easy? Look at yourself. They're not even here yet and I can tell you are already on the verge of despair." He tilted his head back slightly and looked down at her. "Am I wrong?"

Liara's mouth worked but she couldn't really refute him. _I am close to despair._ "But Shepard," she said. "Shepard will never give in. No matter what."

Viral grunted and crossed his arms. "It's true. The resistance is coalescing around her, suggesting she has a remarkably strong will." He shook his head. "But...tell me this." He lifted the coffee can in his hand. "If I told you that you had to throw this can into orbit from this apartment or everyone you knew and loved would die, could you do it?"

Liara shook her head. "Of course not. That's impossible."

"Do you think that Shepard could?"

Liara thought about it but she had to shake her head again. "I don't see how she possibly could."

Viral stared at the coffee can pensively. "Well, that's the test. Defeating the reapers means having to change a zero percent probability into a hundred percent."

Liara sighed and leaned forward. "Was that all just a long-winded way of saying that the universe is doomed no matter what we do?"

"Yes." Viral crushed the can in his fist. "Your civilizations are doomed, without a doubt." Then he grunted and tossed the can into the air. "Well, that's what I would normally say but with that idiot here, who knows what might happen?"

"What idiot?" Liara asked.

Viral grunted. Then his face exploded in a cloud of red. Liara watched, mind and body frozen, as he slowly fell forward, the crushed coffee can bouncing to the ground next to him. From what seemed to be a long ways away she heard Samara shout, "Sniper!" A second later the older asari smashed into Liara, carrying her to the ground behind a chair. Liara saw a burst of stuffing shoot out of the couch directly where Samara had been a moment earlier. The justicar straightened and created a barrier that warded off the next shot. Samara glanced down at Liara and asked, "Can you defend yourself?"

Liara blinked, swallowed and then nodded rapidly. "Yes." She let biotic energy flow into her body and sat up.

"I will go and capture this sniper," Samara said. Liara was astounded by her casual confidence. The justicar stood and swept a biotic wave forward, shattering the glass of the large window. Then she sprinted forward and leapt out the window.

Liara waited for a moment but no more bullets seemed incoming. She slowly crawled out and toward the window. Viral was laying face down, a pool of blood leaking out from under his head. _How am I going to explain this to Shepard?_ Liara thought bleakly. Viral had only been with her for a day and he was dead. It was too sudden for Liara to wrap her mind around. Who had shot him and why? _We just lost our only real lead on the reapers..._ Then Viral's hand flexed.

Liara barely held back a scream. _How can he be alive?_ His face had literally exploded! Viral gathered his hands underneath him and pushed himself up. Liara stared at his face in both horror and fascination. It was still a red ruin but it was getting better in front of her eyes. The nose grew back and the eyes realigned. Fresh pink skin grew where there had been none. Finally, the hole in his forehead shrank down and disappeared with a puff of steam. Viral wiped some of the blood from his face and stood up. "Feh!" he spat. "It's been a while since somebody got me in the back of the head."

"Been a while?!" Liara snapped. "What...what are you?" Even the best medical science that asari hospitals could offer wouldn't have allowed Viral to recover from that. Much less without a scratch! "Come away from the window. That sniper might still be out there."

Viral laughed. It was more bitter than mocking, though. "What do I have to fear from a sniper?" Still, he came away from the window and let himself be led to the kitchen.

Liara wet a cloth and used it to wipe the blood from his face. Viral didn't thank her but he put up with it. It was clear that Viral didn't like to talk about himself but she had to ask, "How did you do that? It shouldn't be possible to regenerate like that." It wasn't her primary interest but Liara knew enough to know that neural tissue wasn't supposed to heal like that. Even skin wasn't supposed to heal that fast!

"Damned if I know," Viral said.

"How can that be?"

"I wasn't really given a choice when I received this body." He glanced at his hand and made into a fist. "Though I was happy about it at the time, fool that I am." He shook his head, his blonde hair waving. "I don't know how he did it, though."

"Who?" Liara asked breathlessly.

Viral glanced at her. "It doesn't matter. This all happened ages ago. I don't think this body is completely his doing anymore, either." Viral leaned against the counter and glanced down. "The regeneration...the fact that nothing seems to be able to kill me...I think it is beyond what even he could do. I'm being kept alive for some reason. I don't have a choice." He laughed again and it was so hallow that Liara's heart started to ache. "What a joke. I thought I was warrior but now all I can do helplessly watch as the same pattern happens again and again. Probably until this universe collapses in on itself." He was silent for a long time after that and Liara had no idea what to say. For the first time, she was starting to feel empathy for him. Asari knew what it was like to survive while everything around them withered and died. That led her to thoughts she didn't want to have. Thoughts she'd been avoiding. _Shepard…_

Fortunately, a chime from her omnitool interrupted them. She glanced at Viral and said, "Someone is at the door." He narrowed his eyes and tensed but when Liara dialed up the security feed, they both relaxed. It was Samara, with another asari kneeling down next to her. Liara hurriedly opened the door.

Samara kicked the other asari through and, when she fell face forward, Liara saw that she had handcuffs on. Liara studied the purple-skinned asari and decided that she'd never seen her before. Samara stepped through the doorway and grasped the collar of the fallen asari's armor and dragged her back to her knees. Liara noticed that one of her eyes had a massive bruise that had swollen shut. She also saw that a chunk of armor missing from Samara's left arm. "Are you alright?" she asked breathlessly.

"A scratch," Samara said dismissively. "She was slightly faster than I anticipated. I have already applied medigel to it."

"That's a relief. So this is the sniper?" Liara asked rhetorically, hands on her hips.

"What...what the hell?" The mystery asari muttered. Her good eye was trained on Viral. "How are you alive?" _That's right!_ Liara glanced at Samara to see how she was reacting. There was nothing. _Is she made of ice?_

Viral smiled, showing all of his sharp teeth. "You missed me."

"No way," the asari shook her head. "I know I hit you."

"Did you really?" Viral asked cruelly. The sniper lapsed into silence. _What could she say?_

"It does not matter," Samara announced. "Murder and attempted murder are treated equally harshly under the code." She let that linger for a moment. "I am Samara. Identify yourself and explain why you opened fire upon us."

"Justicar bitch," the purple asari muttered.

Samara grabbed her by the collar again and flung her against the wall. She put one red boot on the sniper's neck and pressed her heel into her larynx. "I am well within my rights as a justicar to execute you here and now. If you would prefer to be turned over to the authorities, you should answer my questions." Liara was stunned by the sudden and ruthless violence. _Though I suppose I've seen Shepard do similar things…_

Samara eased up the pressure and the asari coughed. She glowered at Samara but muttered. "My name is Tela Vasir. Spectre." Tela smiled cruelly. "You are 'within your rights?'" She scoffed. "This isn't some backwater asari world. This is Illium. _I_ am the one within my rights here. Merely executing my duties as a Spectre."

That shook Liara. "A Spectre?" she repeated. "What could we have done to warrant execution?"

"I am under no obligation to tell you," Tela spat.

Samara pressed her boot heel into Tela's throat. "The code doesn't differentiate a Spectre from any other person. Explain to me why you tried to kill us or I will be forced to assume you are mad and need to be put down like a dog."

She eased off an Tela gasped. "Damn," she muttered, breathing raggedly. "What are you even doing here, Justicar?" She considered for a moment. Liara knew what she had to be thinking. Nearly anyone else would bow to the weight of the Spectre title. But not a justicar. They would break the law or die to follow their code. "Fine. It's not you I was trying for." Her good eye cut to Viral. "Or that... _thing._ Whatever it is." Her eye travelled to Liara. "It's you." An icy hand closed on Liara's heart. "I don't know what you did but the Shadow Broker wants you dead. And he wants it badly."

 **Part 2**

"Shepard," Tali said, spinning to face Shepard as the Spectre entered engineering. "I was hoping you'd stop by. I wanted to thank you again. For saving me from the geth. And for letting me tinker around with another amazing ship!"

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Tinker around?"

"Just making things a bit more efficient," Tali said breezily. "You can tell that this ship was designed by people who don't spend their lives on ships." Tali paused and rubbed her hands together. "Not that it isn't very nice. It's the most advanced ship I've ever been on. A worthy successor to the _Normandy._ "

Shepard smiled. "Worried about offending EDI?" Tali stiffened and Shepard instantly regretted her thoughtless joke. Scrambling to change the subject, she said, "I'm not sure we can call this the _Normandy_ anymore, though. Not with the new paint job."

"I've been meaning to ask about that, Shepard. It was...quite the surprise."

"It was for me, too," Shepard said with a sigh. When she'd rendevouzed with the Kamina, Miranda and the rest, she'd been shocked to see her ship repainted a bright red. There were also now two giant flags attached to the thrusters on either wing of the ship. The flags were white with the icon of a burning red skull with black, sharply pointed sunglasses in the center. The Dai-Gurren logo, apparently. According to a hysterical Joker and slightly miffed Miranda, Kamina had conspired with Wrex to make that paint-job happen. _A good prank. I will have to find a way to get back at him._ "It was the idea of one of my more...eccentric crew members." Shepard shrugged. "We're not affiliated with the Alliance at the moment and it's not like the physical color impacts the ship's stealth parameters so I've decided to let it be for the moment." _Let Kamina have his_ Gurren Senken _._ Truth be told, she thought it was kind of cool. Even if she would never admit it out loud.

"Was the crew member Kamina?" Tali asked.

"How'd you guess?" Shepard asked with mild sarcasm.

"It seemed like him. He's very...energetic."

"That's one way to put it," Shepard laughed.

"I've never seen anyone leap on top of a geth Colossus before." Shepard hadn't either and it had nearly given her a heart attack. "He's very fearless...isn't he?"

 _Wait a second…_ There was a certain tone in Tali's voice. A tone that concerned Shepard. _Is Kamina Tali's type?_ Shepard shook her head slightly. _I don't believe it. But I'll need to keep an eye on it._ "He certainly is," Shepard said, quickly changing the subject. "Geth, though, that was certainly nostalgic. Talk about fearless. Going into geth territory was a pretty crazy risk." Shepard forced a laugh. "Though I only rescued you from one suicide mission in order to ask you to go on another," she said apologetically.

"Don't worry about it," Tali said. "The mission into geth territory was necessary, just as this one is. I can't imagine what is happening to those poor colonists."

 _I have an idea but it's not something I want to talk about._ "Thanks, Tali, I'm glad you could join me. I need the best. I also need people I can trust."

"Because you can't trust Ouroboros?" Tali cocked her head. "I've said this before but I don't think you should be working with them."

"I have my reasons, Tali, and they're good ones," Shepard said earnestly. "I don't trust them but what really matters here is if _you_ trust _me_."

"Of course, Shepard," Tali said without hesitation. All the tension drained out of Shepard. Everybody, even someone like Ashley, who'd seen everything she'd seen, always seemed to be second-guessing her. It was such a relief to have people like Tali and Garrus and Anderson on her side.

"Thanks, Tali," Shepard said, clapping her on the shoulder. "You have no idea how much that means to me." Tali didn't respond and Shepard could tell she was embarrassed. Shepard grinned and said, "I need to go and talk to Garrus about the refit. We'll talk later?"

Tali nodded. "Sounds good, Shepard."

Shepard walked toward the exit and then paused. "Also, if you have any ideas on how to improve the _Gurren Senken,_ send them my way. Money is no object."

"The _Gurr-_?" Tali started. "Did you say money was no object."

"That's right," Shepard said with a grin. She left Tali as the quarian started imagining the prospects. Shepard took the elevator up and headed for the forward gun bay. She found Garrus inside, messing with calculations on his datapad. "How's it look?" Directly after rescuing Tali, they'd come to a dry-dock to have the Thanix Cannon installed.

"Shepard," Garrus said by way of greeting. "Things look good. Great, in fact. The _Normany's_ engines are powerful enough that we can fire this almost as frequently as a dreadnaught could. Pound for pound, I don't know if there has ever been a ship as powerful as this one is now."

"So you think we'll be able to punch through the collector ship this time?"

"Like slicing through a charra."

Shepard assumed that was some sort of soft fruit or something. "Great. Now we just have to wait and see of the Illusive Man can get us a way to the collector homeworld."

"We're not recruiting any more people?" Garrus asked, setting down his datapad.

"Nah, I don't think so." Shepard sighed and leaned back against the wall. "This team is already bigger than the one that we had when we took out Saren. If it gets too big it will get unwieldy." Shepard closed her eyes. "Besides, I reviewed the rest of the dossiers Ouroboros prepared. None of them appealed to me, really. Mercs and thieves."

"I see." Garrus paused and then asked, "Are you feeling alright, Shepard?"

Shepard cracked open her eyes. "Yeah, just tired." After getting things set up in the dry-dock, she'd sacked out for twelve hours but she still felt tired. _Damn nightmares._ She was grateful for the images the prothean beacon had blasted into her brain but she could do without seeing them every night.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Shepard. Won't do anyone any good." Shepard merely grunted in response. "By the way," Garrus continued. "I can have these guys repaint the _Normandy_ back to its original colors if you want."

"Hmm?" Shepard murmured. "Not a fan of the _Gurren Senken_ look?"

"I just think blue and silver look the best." He turned to her, puffed out his chest and gave his best approximation of a smile. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Shepard was so surprised that she almost choked on her laughter. _That's such a stupid joke and an even worse smile._ "What the hell?" she said, playfully pushing Garrus. He chuckled softly. Shepard wiped a tear from her eye and abruptly, the memory of their conversation in the lounge came back to her. The one about the ways turians liked to blow off steam. She was now acutely aware of how close Garrus was and started to feel a little warm. She'd skimmed through the document that EDI had put together concerning human/turian relations and was surprised at how compatible the two species were.

It was a relief when EDI said, "Commander, there is an urgent call incoming from the Illusive Man."

Shepard instantly switched to business. "I'll be right there," she said, even as she was jogging toward the elevator. _Has he found a way through the relay?_ Shepard took the elevator up and sped into the conference room. She stepped into the entangler and found herself in that same wide room. The Illusive man was slumped on a throne-like chair silhouetted by the giant blue sun behind him.

His bizarre eyes opened and he said, "Shepard. We have an opportunity. We've intercepted communications from a turian patrol that came across a collector ship." Shepard's eyes widened at that. "The turians got lucky and managed to disable it before they were destroyed." His eyes narrowed and he continued, "The collector ship is dead in space at the moment. I want you to go investigate it."

Shepard's mind raced. _How could a turian patrol disable that monster? And what circumstances would lead to them being destroyed the moment they did so?_ "What about the turians?" she asked. "Aren't they investigating?"

"Of course," the Illusive Man said. "But I intercepted the distress call. You won't have to worry about them showing up for a while," he added with an enigmatic smile.

Something wasn't sitting right with Shepard but she realized she didn't have a choice. Getting information from the collector ship was worth just about any risk. "I'll head out immediately then," she said, stopping herself from saluting at the last moment. The Illusive Man merely nodded and Shepard stepped out of the entangler. "Joker," she said over the com. "Are we cleared to leave dock?"

"Uh…" came the slow reply. "They wanted us to stay for another six hours so they could do a final inspection."

"Well, we're leaving now. And I mean right now. Get clearance and get us out of here. EDI has the coordinates, right EDI?"

"Affirmative," EDI responded.

"Shepard...I just got my pants off. It's kind of an arduous project for me," Joker said.

"The current status of your pants doesn't concern me, soldier," Shepard snapped, with mock severity. "I need this bird in the air on the double."

"Seriously...god damn it…"

True to the Illusive Man's prediction, when they reached the collector ship, there were no other ships in the area, turian or otherwise. EDI brought up a hologram of the collector ship and said, "There are no signs of activity from the ship. The cause of this is unknown, however. There is no sign of damage to the ship." Shepard narrowed her eyes at that. It increased her conviction further that this was a trap. _But there is still no choice but to go inside._ The only thing she could do was make the collectors regret that they caught her in their trap.

She glanced around at the team that was crowded into their meeting room. Kamina, Grunt, Garrus, Tali, Miranda and Thane. _How to play this?_ If they were walking into a dangerous situation-and everything was pointing toward that fact-she needed to maintain as much tactical flexibility as possible. _As well as bringing the big guns with me._ "We're going to go and see what we can find inside that ship. Kamina and Grunt are with me." The two meatheads bumped fists when she said that, threatening to make Shepard smile. "The rest of you will remain with the landing shuttle as a reserve. Garrus will command."

"Shepard…" Miranda began.

"Miranda," Shepard cut her off. "I am honestly worried that we are walking into an ambush. The teams are designed to reflect that. Trust me, I'm not leaving you here to keep you out of the mission. I am waiting until I see what the collectors do and then I will commit you. The four of you all have a variety of skills whereas these two," she said, gesturing at Grunt and Kamina, "are really only good for one thing." Instead of being offended, the duo seemed rather pleased with her assessment.

Miranda opened her mouth angrily but paused and seemed to actually consider Shepard's words. Then she nodded. "I agree with your plan, Shepard."

Shepard had to bite back a sarcastic comment. _Just take the win._ "Glad to hear it," Shepard said instead. Then she connected to Joker and said, "Take us in but be careful and ready to bolt if that thing wakes up on us."

"Yeah, sure," Joker muttered. _His discipline has really slipped since we left the military. And considering the way he was before..._

The _Gurren Senken_ sidled up to the collector ship and they managed to find what seemed to be a docking bay. They all jammed themselves into one landing shuttle and shot inside. Shepard led Kamina and Grunt down into the collector ship while the rest of the four remained just outside the shuttle. As they headed inside Shepard said "Keep your guns at the ready. There is no telling what we'll find in here." The inside the collector ship was bizarre. It was dim and a bit claustrophobic. _It also looks like some parts of it are organic. Like a high-tech insect hive._ She supposed it made a certain amount of perverse sense.

"I don't like this place," Kamina said, sounding serious for once. "It's too cramped." Shepard had to agree. It was hard to remember that they were in a high-tech ship, with all the winding tunnels.

"Commander," EDI said. "Please see if you can find any nodes so that I may establish an uplink with the collector ship."

"Roger."

"Something else that may be of interest. This is the same ship that we encountered on Horizon." _May be of interest, huh?_ Shepard thought wryly. There were so many red flags going up that she was starting to wonder if it actually _was_ just a coincidence. _Maybe we can rescue the colonists that were taken captive, though._ Shepard still deeply regretted failing to do something about that. _Please be alive!_

As if the ship was reading her mind, a pod that looked just the right size to hold a human popped into view. Shepard sprinted up to it and was disappointed to see nothing inside. _Am I too late?_ They continued on, in silence. Even Kamina. There was something oppressive about the collector vessel. After a few more minutes they came across something that made the blood drain from Shepard's face. Human bodies, dumped in a pile like so much trash. _How could they do this?_ Some corpses were intact while others were dismembered but they'd all clearly been dead for some time. Shepard's hands tightened on her gun. She knew the reapers were planning on disposing of all biological life but this was the first time she'd been confronted with it so starkly.

"What is that?" Kamina asked from behind her. She almost moved to shield him from it but realized there was no hiding it. Instead, her heart ached as she watched him go from curious to horrified. He spun around and she could hear him breathing heavily, obviously trying not to vomit.

Grunt, understandably less disturbed, walked up to the bodies and nudged the pile with his foot. "Saw a lot of death in the memories Okeer planted in me but nothing quite like this. This isn't the way you treat an enemy. They were dumped here like garbage."

"But why though?" Shepard asked no one in particular. The collectors had to have a reason for taking humans instead of just slaughtering them where they stood. _It has to be something regarding the creature that was piloting that mini-reaper. Viral mentioned mutations._ Did it not work all the time, perhaps? Or even most of the time? Were these discarded bodies failed experiments?

Before Shepard could voice her thoughts aloud, Kamina straightened up and shouted, "What does it matter why they are doing this?! All the matters is stopping them! We need to shut these sick freaks down now! We need to blow this ship out of the sky!"

He looked as if he were going to scream some more and Shepard could see sweat dripping down his face. She laid a hand on him and said, "I know, Kamina. I know. Let's keep going and see if we can find a way to do just that."

He jerked away from her and looked like he was about to scream again but then he just nodded. The continued on, passing more corpses. Shepard's mouth tightened into a hard line. _This is the price of failure._ If the reapers got their way, every human would be disposed of like they were nothing. _Where are the collector's anyway? How deep do they mean to let us penetrate before attacking us?_

Something akin to a workstation came into view, complete with a computer console. Shepard jogged up to it and activated her omnitool. "EDI, I've found a terminal. See if you can learn anything." Shepard peered into the pod next to the console and was surprised to see a collector inside. "It seems like they were experimenting on one of their own," she muttered. "I wonder why."

"Nothing in the data explains the reason, Commander, but I have found something that may be of interest," EDI said. "The collector has a quad-strad genetic structure. Only one other species is known to have the same: the protheans." Shepard frowned. _So Viral was right about the reapers repurposing the protheans._ This left little doubt that they were doing the same thing with humans.

EDI continued her analysis but Shepard was only half-listening. She knew what she needed to know. A red gun tossed carelessly on the floor caught her attention. _Well, well. Where did you come from?_ Shepard picked it up and saw that it was indeed a M-76 Revenant assault rifle. She'd once read an article raving about the gun, one of the most expensive on the market. It was extremely powerful and spat bullets at a mind-blowing rate. She also remembered the warning that it was a little too wild unless you were excessively well-built. _Or a krogan._ A big, messy assault rifle really wasn't her speed so she tossed it to Grunt, who was currently only carrying his massive shotgun. "I think you'll have fun with that." He held it up and studied intensely with this big blue eyes. Then he chuckled softly and gave her a nod. Shepard smiled faintly and waved them on.

They emerged into a wider part of the ship and Shepard glanced up to see hundreds of pods on the ceilings. She blanched. _How many?_ "That's a lot of pods," Grunt said, quite unnecessarily.

"I detect no signs of life in the pods," EDI said. "It is probable the people inside died when the ship lost power." Rage surged up inside Shepard but she instantly controlled it and channeled it into cold determination. _I am going to put down every one of the monsters that did this._ She didn't think she'd been this angry since Torfan. She turned to Kamina, expecting him to be on cusp of exploding but instead he just seemed heartbreakingly confused and upset. Shepard supposed that he had never seen anything like this. In a perverse way, the horrifying images that had been put in her and Grunt's minds were acting as something of a shield to this madness.

Shepard touched Kamina's shoulder. "Come on. Don't look at it. We have to keep moving." He stared at her for a moment with his red eyes wide, speechless for once. Shepard waved him on. "Let's find the creatures that did this." She turned and walked on, Kamina following behind her, still in a state of shock. They worked there way up and emerged into an even more wide open space. Pods covered the walls and ceilings. There were thousands of them. Hundreds of thousands, maybe. _They're not going to stop. They could take every colony in the Terminus and fail to fill all of these._

"Are-are there people in all of those pods?" Kamina asked, sounding on the edge of panic.

"Negative," EDI said before Shepard could. "The humans taken from colonies so far would only fill a fraction of those pods. It may be surmised that they mean to attack Earth at some point."

"We will stop them before they have the chance," Shepard said with steely determination. She spotted what looked like a control station and jogged up to it. _Is this the bridge of the ship? Still no collectors._ Shepard brought up her onmitool and hacked into the main terminal. "EDI, you should be able to access the collector's data banks now. See what you can dig up."

"As you command."

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds and then Joker said, "Shit!"

"Was going on over there?" Shepard demanded.

"Major power surge. Knocked us out for a second but it seems like everything is coming back," he responded.

"I diverted the power surge to non-critical systems," EDI informed them. "However, this was not a malfunction. It was a deliberate attack."

 _So it's starting._ Shepard glanced around as she heard some quick hisses. _Sounds like pneumatic tubes._ Then she felt rumbling underneath her feet and the platform they were standing on slowly started spinning and raising into the sky. "Get ready!" she shouted to Grunt and Kamina. The krogan already was but Kamina was staring around in surprise. "EDI, it looks like the collectors are springing their trap. Focus your efforts on mining as much information as possible. We'll figure out something here."

"As you say, Commander," EDI responded. "However, I am having trouble maintaining a connection. There is someone else in the system."

"Do whatever you have to do. We can't miss this chance." After EDI's acknowledgement, Shepard connected to Garrus and said, "Garrus, the collectors are attacking. Hold position for now but be on alert."

"Understood, Shepard," Garrus said, the epitome of calm.

The platform they were riding came down hard and Shepard saw two more flying platforms headed their way. _Here they come._ Contrary to the situation, Shepard grinned wolfishly. After everything she'd just seen, she was aching to take down some collectors. She sighted down the scope of her rifle and ended two of them before the first platform even touched down.

Kamina was even more emphatic. He seized the second platform and spun it all the way upside down, dumping the collectors off of it. Shepard glanced over to seem his wreathed in green energy. "Nice, Kamina!" she shouted. "But conserve your energy. We don't know how long it might take us to get out of here." She could already see platforms three and four headed their way.

""Conserve your energy?''' he scoffed. "I've never heard the phrase. A man pours one hundred percent of his soul into any fight! And it's more than enough to deal with this scum." With that, he charged toward the first platform, now linked with their own. Luckily, Grunt went with him, liberally spraying the platform with his new Revenant.

"Kamina…" Shepard muttered. He was too fired up but she didn't know how to talk him down. _I guess all I can do is watch his back._

EDI piped up, "My connection is reestablished, Commander, but it will take a while before I can override any of the ship's systems,"

"Keep me updated, EDI." Shepard put a bullet through the head of a collector taking aim at Kamina's back. "If you could shut down these flying platforms, I'd be grateful."

"Roger, Commander. However, I am currently fighting over eight thousand collector firewalls. I am tasked to capacity."

Shepard cursed softly, taking out two more collectors. She shelved all her N7 learned motivation tactics, since she was dealing with an AI and merely repeated. "Understood. Keep me updated." A flash of light drew Shepard's attention and she saw another collector shoot up and start glowing orange. _Harbinger again?_ Grunt blew it to pieces before it could do anything. That seemed to be the last of them, as well. There were no more flying platforms.

"Commander, I am being blocked from connecting with the main control console. I need your help reestablishing my link."

"Got it," Shepard said, sliding over a barrier and sprinting to the command terminal. Her omnitool flashed to life and she swiftly hacked in and peeled away the last firewall preventing EDI from getting in.

A little VI of EDI popped up on the terminal. "I have regained control, Commander."

"Good work. See if you can get this platform back to its original spot." As soon as she said it, the platform lifted up and started back in the direction it had come from. _EDI really is incredibly useful._ "Did you find anything useful in the data mine?"

"I did," EDI confirmed. "Information that will help us navigate the Omega 4 relay." She paused and if Shepard didn't know EDI was an AI, she would have assumed she was considering whether or not to say something. "I also found the turian distress call that served as the lure for this trap. The collectors were the source. It is unusual."

"Why?" Shepard asked as the platform settled back into its original spot. "I've been worried from the beginning that that was the case."

"It is unusual because turian emergency channels have a secondary encryption. It is corrupted in the message. It is not possible that the Illusive Man would believe the distress call was genuine."

 _Figures._ "Are you sure about this?"

"I found the anomaly with Ouroboros detection protocols."

"He sent us into a trap?" Joker muttered. "Why would he do that?"

Shepard found that she wasn't at all surprised. This had smelled of a trap from the get go and the Illusive Man was far from stupid. The fact that he knew it was a trap and didn't tell her was another thing. _That bastard loves his tests._ It was another indication that he considered her beneath him though. Not a true partner. _Once this mission is over, I need to distance myself from him._ "We can talk about this later," she said. "For now, let's get the hell off this ship."

"Good idea, Shepard," Joker shouted. "The collector ship just started powering up. We need to get out of here before the weapons come online. I'm not losing another _Normandy_!"

"No worries, then," Shepard quipped. "Since its the _Gurren Senken_ now." She ignored the sounds of Joker's intense frustration and gestured at Kamina and Grunt. "We gotta move."

"I do not have full control of their systems," EDI said. "I will do what I can."

They charged their way back down into the warrens of the ship. They didn't get for before a collector ambush hit them. They flew in from all sides, at least three dozen of them. Grunt roared and poured the hellfire of his assault rifle on them as they tried to land. Kamina also sent out a wave of energy that knocked several out of the air. But two dozen of them landed around the threesome. Since there was nowhere to hunker down, Shepard drew her pistol and shot the closest one through the head. She blasted a second one with a fireball. A third tackled her, carrying her to the ground. Shepard hit hard, losing her grip on her pistol. She swiftly moved her omnitool into place to skewer him but before she could, the collector jerked and slumped. Shepard frowned. That didn't seem like a kill from Grunt or Kamina. _It came from a sniper rifle but Garrus should still be holding position._

Shepard kicked the dead collector off her and rolled over, gathering her gun and coming to one knee in one fluid motion. She dropped two collectors that were close by and looked around for where the sniper shot might have come from. When she found the culprit, shock ran through her. It wasn't Garrus or anybody from her crew. _Is that a geth?_ The machine drifted back into the shadows but not before Shepard caught a glimpse of a faded 'N7' painted on a piece of its armor. _What the hell?_ Shepard shook her head and helped Kamina and Grunt clean up the rest of the collectors.

When they were done, Shepard took a step back in the direction of the shuttle and stopped short. There was a closed door where there had not been before. Shepard searched the door but didn't see any mechanism for opening it. She connected to EDI. "EDI, there is a closed door here and I can't seem to find a way to open it…"

"I am sorry, Commander," EDI responded. "The collectors have managed to shut me out of most of the ship again."

A different door opened a little ways away just as EDI finished. Shepard sighed. _I guess, they're not going to let us go that easy._ Shepard led her companions through the door and into another collector ambush. After taking care of that, another door opened. _They're just going to lead us through a freaking gauntlet. How many collectors are on this ship? Thousands? Tens of thousands?_ Shepard glanced at her team. Grunt seemed raring to go but Kamina was looking a bit winded. Sheer numbers would wear down even the pure krogan though. "EDI, any luck in taking control back? We could really use an exit path here."

"Apologies, Commander. I am making progress, however. I am receiving help from an unknown source."

 _That geth?_ Shepard guessed instantly. She decided it was better to keep that to herself until she understood what was happening, however. "Alright," she said with a sigh. She switched channels. "Garrus, how are things on your end?"

"Several collectors have gathered just out of range," Garrus said. "They don't seem to be doing anything for now but watching us." _Making sure that they don't come in to try and help us_ , Shepard supposed. "I am debating whether to sit back or launch a preemptive attack."

"I don't think they plan on attacking," Shepard said. "Leastways, not till I'm in one of these pods. Do what you think is best to protect the shuttle. We're having some trouble getting back to you so I don't know how much longer it will be."

"Got it, Shepard. Don't worry. When you get back, this shuttle will be here."

"Thanks, Garrus." Shepard smiled. She loved that he didn't ask if she needed help. He just assured her that he would do his job. Shepard had been debating whether or not to proceed forward or stay put until EDI got control of the doors in the ship but Kamina and Grunt were already peering into the next room, obviously not content to stay still. Shepard sighed and drew her rifle. "Alright boys, let's get going."

The next room was in the shape of a shallow bowl. They walked out onto a small ledge that looked down on most of the room. There didn't seem to be any collectors in the room but Shepard felt a chill run down her spine and her hackles raise. She gestured with her rifle for Grunt and Kamina to take cover. "Hurry!" Even as she spoke a door on the far side of the room opened and a mini-reaper charged it. The body was in the shape of a skull again but this time it resembled a horse's skull more than a human's. It raised its stubby arms and unleashed two beams from wrist-mounted guns. The beams were nearly as big around as Shepard. She hurriedly ducked all the way down. _If that thing hits me, my shields will collapse instantly and I'll disintegrate!_ She noticed that Kamina was still poking his head over the barrier, staring at the mini-reaper slack-jawed. She pulled him down just as the collector beam passed over their heads. "What are you doing, you moron?" she shouted, her fear at his near decapitation making her meaner than she meant to be.

He didn't even notice. His eyes were far away somewhere. "What is _that_ doing here?" he muttered.

 _I'd like to know the same thing._ The beams stopped so Shepard cautiously poked her head up The horse-head mini-reaper had lowered its arms. Shepard wondered if there was a limit to how long it could fire the particle beams. Then she had no more time to think as a flood of collectors swarmed in behind the mini-reaper. With a roar, Grunt opened up on them, astutely focusing on the choke-point of the doorway. Shepard cleaned up the ones that escaped his barrage. She moved from target to target as fast as possible, not bothering to aim at vital spots like she normally did. She just wanted to knock them down as fast a possible. "Kamina!" she yelled. "Get your ass in gear!"

"Sorry!" he yelped, apparently returning to their dire present. Bullets from his Locust joining the barrage.

The mini-reaper abruptly lifted its arms again and fired, burning through the collectors in front of it seemingly without care. Shepard instantly dived back for cover. The beam merely brushed the top of her shield and it collapsed with a warning tone. She was glad to see that Kamina had ducked down as well. _But what are we going to do?_ Shepard had the collector particle beam she'd salvaged on Horizon attached to her back but it would take time to pierce the mini-reaper even if she kept it focused in one spot. _I suppose I could have Kamina hold it while I shoot and Grunt keeps the collectors off us._ It could work but it would be very dangerous. "Well, what choice do we have?" Shepard muttered aloud.

"Sukeban," Kamina said. "I have a plan." Shepard glanced at him and the look on her face must have shown how apprehensive his announcement made her. "Really," he said with a cocky smile. "Leave this to me."

"Are you sure, Kamina?" Shepard asked.

Kamina looked her dead in the eye and said, "Sukeban...who the hell do you think I am?"

A shiver ran up Shepard's spine. She nodded. "Let's do it, Kamina."

The red-eyed boy's grin grew even wider. He returned his gun to his hip and stood, still hunched in cover. As soon as the beams stopped, he vaulted over the barrier. Shepard popped up at the same time. The room was rife with collectors. "Grunt," she shouted. "Cover him!" Kamina made a beeline for the horse-head mini-reaper. Shepard and Grunt blew away any collector that got near him.

It worked to keep Kamina on his feet but it left Shepard exposed. A fusillade from her left collapsed her shields again and she had to make a desperate turn and shoot at her attackers from the hip. Amazingly, she kept her rifle steady enough to hit them both. Shepard's stomach tightened and she wondered if she would have been able to make that shot without Miranda's muscle weaves.

When she turned back to Kamina, she was astonished to see him latched onto the front of the horse-skull. Swirling green energy manifested around him and he she watched in amazement as he pried open the mouth of the mini-reaper. _That's right. Viral did that as well._ Kamina reached in and threw out the brown-furred humanoid inside. Then he disappeared inside and the mouth closed behind him. Shepard was forced to turn away defend herself against a few collectors but a moment later she heard Kamina's laughter resound through the room. It was far too loud to be unamplified and when Shepard glanced back at the horse-headed mini-reaper, she was astounded to see it laughing as Kamina did.

The mini-reaper lifted its arms and swept the beams through the room, frying the last of the collectors. Shepard stared at the laughing reaper, her rifle held loosely in one hand. _He's...he's piloting a reaper?!_

Kamina lowered the hands of the mini-reaper and then spun in a full circle and threw a few punches. "Oh yeah," Kamina said. "It's no Gurren but not bad! Not bad at all!"

Shepard ran up to him and stared at the Kamina-piloted reaper with her head tilted back. "Kamina!" she exclaimed. "How did you do that? How did you even think to that?"

"How?" Kamina repeated with laughter in his voice. "How? Because I'm Kamina-sama!"

Shepard's heart started hammering in her chest and her face grew a little warm. She'd never been attracted to Kamina-he was too young and pretty for her-but she would've had to have been made of ice not to feel something from that. All of her good feelings were flushed away in an instant when she caught sight of what Kamina had tossed from the mini-reaper earlier. It had been caught in the crossfire and riddled with bullets but she could still make out what it used to be. _Like a human with brown fur and floppy ears._ Shepard's stomach turned. _Was he from Horizon?_ It was hard to know what was worse, ending up in a pile of dead bodies or ending up like _that._

"Haha!" she heard Grunt laugh, bringing her attention back to him. The krogan punched the mini-reapers leg and said, "You should let me have a ride on that."

"We will have to get you one of your own!" Kamina laughed back, his mini-reaper opening and closing its mouth in a mimicry of his speech.

 _That_ brought up a whole host of questions that Shepard needed to sort through. _Reapers for everyone?!_ It had to be put on the back-burner for now though. "EDI," she said. "What's your status? I think we can carve a path now, if you just want to give us the most direct route."

"Commander," EDI said, "I have some new information that is of vital interest. The unidentified hacker helping me pointed to it."

 _That geth?_ "What is it?"

"Information on how the collectors pass through the Omega Four relay. Apparently they use a specific identify friend foe device created with reaper tech."

 _A reaper IFF?_ That was simple but genius. As long as you didn't care about murdering anyone who wasn't associated with you-which obviously the collectors did not-it made passing through the relay all but impossible. Shepard could already see where EDI was going with this. "If that's the case," Shepard said, "then this ship should have an IFF…"

"Exactly, Commander," EDI confirmed. "I can foresee no scenario where you would have a better chance to capture an IFF."

"Neither can I. Do you have the coordinates for the IFF?" EDI confirmed and sent them to Shepard's omnitool. Shepard glanced at the mini-reaper Kamina was riding in. "Can you send them to that machine that Kamina is in? I think I'll have him give me a ride."

The line was silent for a moment and then EDI said, "I am having difficulty. The technology of that machine is not similar to anything I have encountered."

"Don't worry about it then," Shepard said quickly. _The last thing we need is for EDI to get infected by reaper programming._ Shepard gazed at the mini-reaper with suspicion. The big ones caused indoctrination. Did the little ones do the same? _I'll have to keep an eye on it._ She walked up to Kamina and said, "Kamina, put your hand out to me."

"Huh? Like this?" Kamina asked. The horse-head reached down so its hand was about level to Shepard's midriff. Shepard climbed onto it and then made her way to the shoulder where she sat down. She glanced down at Grunt and said, "You, too." The krogan seemed hesitant. "Hurry up!" she said, before he could argue. "We need to move as fast as we possibly can."

Grunt grunted sourly and then, complaining under his breath, clambered up the other arm a lot more clumsily than Shepard had. When he sat down, Shepard had to admit that his perch seemed a lot more precarious that Shepard's own. "Alright, Kamina," Shepard said, opening the map on her omnitool. "Carve through the doors directly behind us."

"No problem," Kamina said, wheeling the mini-reaper around. His particle beam flashed at he carved a rectangle big enough to walk through. Then he stomped up and kicked the carved piece out of the door.

"Great!" Shepard said. "Now straight ahead." Kamina charged through the makeshift door and Shepard continued to give him directions toward the location of the IFF. Collectors sprang up but Shepard ordered Kamina to ignore them and run. Speed was the key now. As long as they were running, no collector could draw a bead on them long enough to collapse their shields anyway. Shepard took a few potshots at them when she had a chance but most of her focus was on guiding Kamina and not falling off of the mini-reaper. Grunt had no time for anything but not falling off of the charging machine.

Eventually the reached the part of the ship that housed the IFF. Shepard and Grunt hopped off the horse-head. The entrance to what must of been the core of the ship was much too small for the mini-reaper to fit through so Shepard told Kamina to stay behind and fend off the collectors that were coming after them. She and Grunt headed through the door.

On the other side, a lone geth stood at a terminal near the end of the room. He was surrounded by several other terminals and monitors displaying readings Shepard could only guess at. A handful of dead collectors were littered across the room. The geth's hands hovered over the terminal, with little streams of electricity running between them. _I guess that's how a geth uses a console?_ Shepard instinctively raised her rifle when the geth turned to look at her, its red 'eye' glowing. "Shepard-commander," it said, surprising the heck out of her. It had the same distinctive buzzing audio distortion of all geth but this was the first time she could remember one speaking in language she could understand. "I have recovered the IFF."

 _So it_ was _the geth helping us! But why?_ Before Shepard could say anything, Kamina screamed out, "Shepard, watch out!" Shepard turned back toward the door wondering what he was talking about just as the entire wall exploded. Shepard hurriedly leapt away as Kamina's horse-headed mini-reaper was pushed into the room by another mini-reaper of the same size. Unlike Kamina's horse-head, this machine had a face like an old stone monument. The visage was stern, with a huge nose and massive lips pressed together disapprovingly.

The stone-face threw Kamina aside and charged at the geth. The geth managed to fire once with his rifle but the mini-reaper didn't slow, smacking the geth across the room. The geth hit a wall hard and the light on its face went out. "Damn it," Shepard cursed, pulling free her collector particle cannon. She shot at the stone-face, not really expecting to take it out but hoping to distract it. Her ploy worked. The stone-face wheeled around and stomped toward her.

Luckily, Kamina had regained his feet in the meantime and tackled the stone-face before it could get to her. They rolled out of the room through the wall that had been destroyed. Shepard sprinted toward the geth. She kneeled down and rolled the machine over. There was no way to tell if it was okay. _Do geth die the same way as biologicals anyway? I'm sure Leeron could get him restarted._

"Shepard," Joker cried into her ear. "The collector ship is fully back online and moving. We need to get lost _right now_."

"I hear you, Joker. Hang on for one second." Ignoring his panic-laced comment that they didn't have one second, Shepard connected to Garrus. "Garrus, I want the four of you to board the shuttle and get back to the _Gurren Senken_ asap."

"What about you?" Garrus asked.

"I'll worry about us," Shepard said. "You just get out of here now. Faster you're aboard, the better for us."

"Roger."

"Joker, EDI," Shepard switched back to them. "As soon as Garrus and the other's are aboard, I want you to to get the _Normandy_ as close to our position as possible. We have a way to cut through the hull now, so don't worry too much about that. Just get close and then I need EDI to calculate the fastest path from here to there."

"Your not thinking what I think you're thinking are you?" Joker asked.

"Yup. Once you're in position, open the bay. We're going to leap from the collector ship right into _Gurren Senken._ "

"Shepard, that's insane! And did you just call my ship the _Gurren Senken_?!"

"What is it Kamina likes to say? 'Kick reason to the curb?' We're a handful against a race of monsters that have wiped out every sentient being that's ever existed since time began. I think 'insane' is the new standard."

Joker was knocked speechless at that. Luckily, EDI chimed it, "I have calculated out the most efficient route, Commander."

Shepard brought up the route and glanced over it. "Looks good. Get into position and we'll be there."

"Roger...Commander," Joker said, still sounding skeptical.

"Kamina?" Shepard said, switching channels.

"Yeah?" he responded, quickly followed by, "Take this, you bastard!"

"Do you think I could fit in that cockpit with you?"

"Um, probably?" Kamina said vaguely. Then Shepard heard a thud and Kamina grunt in pain. "This guy is good," he said, with a note of worry in his voice. And then, as if realizing what he said, he compensated by screaming, "But I'm better! Horiyah!"

Shepard spotted Grunt standing in the wreckage of the doorway, shooting at something she couldn't see. Either collectors or the stone-face. "What about Grunt? Could you fit me and Grunt?"

"Uh...that's might be a bit more difficult."

 _Well, that's alright. It isn't like a krogan is going to be affected if exposed to a vacuum for half a second._ "Kamina, I need you to get back here and pick up me and Grunt. We're running."

"Running?!" Kamina yelled. "No way. I never turn my back on an opponent. I can get this guy, just...damn it! Take this!"

"Oh, we're gonna kill that guy. And this whole horrible ship. But to do that, we need to get off it and the longer we're here, the less likely it is we'll be able to take it out."

Kamina was silent for a long time. "Running doesn't feel right, Shepard. A man doesn't run."

Shepard resisted the temptation to shout orders at him like she would a marine. _This is where I miss military discipline._ "We're not running to run," she said. "We're running so that we can take down bigger prey. This ship needs to go before it kills another colony. I have a plan to do that but it involves us getting to the _Gurren Senken_ right now."

Kamina was quiet again and then abruptly groaned. "Alright, Sukeban. I'm coming." He sounded like a kid told that it was time to leave an amusement park. But he came. The horse-head sprinted through the destroyed wall and scooped up Grunt like the krogan was a toddler. Shepard straightened up with the geth over her shoulder just in time for Kamina's horse-headed mini-reaper to open its mouth and eat her. Things went black for a moment as she tumbled into the cockpit. Then she blinked and glanced up at Kamina, who seemed to be upside down. After a second, she realized _she_ was in fact upside down but there wasn't enough room to get right side up.

Instead, she opened opened the map on her omnitool and then pointed in the right direction. "That way!" she commanded. "Crash or burn through everything in your way."

"Aye, Sukeban." Kamina smiled and the mini-reaper lurched into motion. Shepard was surprised that she could see right through the front of the reaper as if nothing at all were there. There weren't any readings or sensors or indicators that she could spot either. Kamina seemed to be controlling it using just two yokes that he put his arms through. Shepard was no expert in the field of giant robots but it seemed like there should be more to it than that. Yet Kamina ran ahead, cut a hole in a wall and kicked it out as easy as if he were not controlling a big hunk of metal. _This is interesting. If we could get more of these and the rest of the crew could learn to control them as easily as Kamina…_

The stone-head soon caught up with them, since Kamina was having to burn through walls. They tussled for a bit, jostling Shepard around. She was initially afraid Kamina would commit to the fight again, but he did a remarkably good job of tripping up the stone-face with only one hand. Grunt, occupying is other hand, made himself useful and blew a chunk of the stone-face's nose off with his shotgun. As soon as the stone-face was on its back, Kamina took off again.

They managed to reach the outer hull of the ship without anymore trouble. Kamina lased a rectangle the size of his mini-reaper and then attempted to kick it out. It barely budged. _Of course. The outer hull has to be thicker than the inner walls._ "You'll have to push it out, Kamina," Shepard said. "I don't think a kick's going to do it." Kamina nodded and braced the shoulder of the horse-head against the cut-out. The block shifted a tiny bit forward with a horrible screech. Kamina slacked on the controls, breathing heavily. Shepard could see sweat dripping down his face. _Maybe I'll need to think of a new plan_. Shepard cursed herself for not foreseeing this.

But then Kamina let out a battle-cry and pushed forward again. The mini-reaper shouldered into the block and it shifted another centimeter. He didn't stop pushing this time. Kamina's hand's tightened on the sticks and his jaw jutted out. Green energy manifested around him and the mini-reaper was able to take a small step forward. Then another. _Is his biotic energy interfacing with the mini-reaper somehow?_ Shepard found it hard to wrap her mind around that and yet Kamina seemed to be _willing_ his machine stronger. _Just what_ is _reaper tech…?_

"We got company incoming," Grunt said, breaking her out of her contemplations.

"This guy…" Kamina said, turning his mini-reaper to face the oncoming stone-face. "When Kamina-sama is gracious enough to allow you to survive," Kamina shouted. "You should realize what a lucky dog you are and run home!"

Kamina swung the horse-head's fist, his body blazing green. The fist hit the stone-face dead on in the lips and the mini-reaper flew back, pieces of its shattered face windmilling through air. Shepard watched, fascinated. Kamina had taken out the stone-face in one blow when they had been fighting fairly evenly just a little bit ago. It was another point in favor of Kamina somehow having made his mini-reaper stronger.

Kamina returned to the block and a couple more shoves knocked it out into space. The _Gurren Senken_ was waiting just beyond, exactly where it needed to be. _EDI really is becoming indispensable._ "Let's do it, Kamina."

The blue-haired young man nodded and backed up the horse-head a few steps. Then he ran forward and leaped out of the collector ship. Considering there was no gravity to stop them between the collector ship and the _Gurren Senken,_ Kamina actually came in a little too hot. He slammed face-first into the bay of the ship. Shepard crashed first into the front of the cockpit and then bounced up and hit the back, leaving her a little dazed. Grunt flew out of the mini-reaper's hand, rolling and skidding across the floor until he hit the far wall. Alarmingly, the ship tilted backwards before Joker expertly stabilized it.

Kamina tottered the horse-head back to it's feet and opened the hatch. Shepard jumped out and stumbled a bit, still feeling dizzy. She was relieved to see that Grunt was back on his feet, seeming none the worse for wear.

She was about to collect the geth from the horse-head when she heard Joker say, "Okay, EDI, now chart us a course out of here!"

"Belay that!" Shepard shouted over the com, already sprinting toward the cockpit. "We have a chance to take that ship out."

"Have you lost your mind, Commander?!" Joker screeched. "Do I need to remind you what that thing did to us the last time we fought it?"

"This isn't last time!" Shepard snapped back. "This time we have a brand new, state of the art cannon and we also have a big hole that leads right to the center of the ship to shoot it into."

"That's, that's, that…" Joker stuttered, getting progressively less angry with each utterance. "...actually could work."

The ship spun around so fast that the inertial compensators couldn't keep up and Shepard was thrown into a wall. She bounced off and continued sprinting toward the cockpit. She reached it just as Joker fired the first salvo. It was on target, boring right through the hole that Kamina had carved and deep into the ship. They couldn't see the damage it had done so Shepard asked, "EDI?"

"There has been significant damage to the to structural integrity of the ship as well as to its power systems, Commander. I estimate that another blow will cause the ship to cease operation and potentially break its spine."

Shepard shared a savage smile with Joker. This ship had destroyed the old _Normandy,_ killed several of their crew members and nearly killed Shepard. "You heard the lady,'" she said and the pointed forward at the collector ship. "Fire!"

Joker did and the bright blue laser burned through the hole once more. The lights of the collector vessel flickered and then died. Joker swung the _Gurren Senken_ around and the flew up and paused a distance away to watch internal explosions slowly tear the collector vessel apart.

"We did it!" Kamina whooped, startling Shepard. She hadn't even realized he had come up behind her.

Shepard clapped him on the shoulder. "That ship is dead because of you, Kamina. I'm not even sure we would have survived it without you, much less destroyed it."

He looked faintly embarrassed for a moment before he puffed out his chest and gave her his cockiest grin. "Did you expect anything less? It's me we're talking about!"

Shepard laughed. "Of course I expected it. But the collector's sure as hell didn't. Now their ship is gone and we have their IFF. Time to go and see if we can surprise them again."

 **Author's Notes**

That was a fun chapter to write. Finally able to get some mechs into the story. Also pleased I managed to get it out in a relatively short period of time. The next one will probably take longer, mostly because I'm not sure if I'm going to devote an entire chapter to side stuff and Shadow Broker stuff or if I'm going leap right into attacking the collector base. I'll start writing and see how it shakes out. Also, you might have noticed that all the other chapters updated. This was just tidying some typos and cleaning up a couple of scenes. No content changed in any of the chapters. As always, thanks for reading!

Kuragari


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